FC Barcelona
Preview
UCL/ECC wins : 1
FC Barcelona is back where it truly belongs -- Europe's biggest stage and they are hell bent on making one big splash. The most explosive offence in Europe is making its way into the UCL and one of the greatest football venues in the world (Camp Nou) promises to be the home of fireworks once again! Laporta's new look Barcelona with a purpose is aiming to win a trophy after half a decade of watching their eternal rivals Real Madrid CF dominate Europe and Spain.
The restructuring is done and the team is there ... now comes the hope for the deliverance, the killer punch and the final blow. FC Barcelona had a shaky first part of the season and then went on a whirlwind 15 game win streak that made them come close to making a serious challenge for the league. There are additions to the squad and this revitalized squad will be hot to handle.
Barcelona's worry will be their defence that can be vulnerable but then again when a side has an offence that can rip apart defences the opposition will have to be special to deal with that and attack on their part as well. Not many sides can do that.
Barcelona is one of the great European sides that has not done justice to its reputation and history failing to win continent's most prestigious trophy on more than one occasion and yet they should have more UCL titles under their belt. The only side in Europe to play in European competition every single season has to step up and the Barcelona fans should be optimistic because this side has the ingredients for success and it is only on the verge of starting a cycle.
Offence
1/2
-> Eto'o
-> Larsson
Barcelona is a thin in this department as they have two strikers only. Although their strategy is dependent on having a single striker but it is a long season so having two players for that position is a little tricky. Other players in the squad can chip in that position but a third player would've been a better. Larsson brings with him not only experience but a goal scoring prowess and Eto'o has shown his class in previous seasons. He looked a bit too excited vs. Sevilla yesterday overdoing it. He needs to be a little more calm and his time will come. For now he has to keep things simple and get into a rhythm first.
Midfield
-> Ronaldinho
-> Deco
-> Giuly
-> Iniesta
-> Xavi
-> Edmilson
-> Gerard
-> Motta (sidelined due to injury for approx six months - twisted knee)
I have no doubt that Barcelona's offence is the most explosive one in this competition. There are one too many match winners present there.
Deco was leading his Porto side to the winner's podium while Giuly led his Monaco side to the final and Ronaldinho is welll ... wait and see how he lights up the UCL. Iniesta could well be starting games coz he has spark to his game. Xavi is the main man in the midfield who is stringing up the moves and the central guy in the equation. It would be interesting to see how well Edmilson is with him. If he can striker a good partnership with him doing most of the donkey work effectively then Barcelona is a ball of fire. Motta's injury is a bad one for Barcelona as they lose out on a player long term.
Defence
1/2
-> Puyol
-> Marquez
-> Belletti
-> Sylvinho
-> Oleguer
-> Van Bronckhorst
-> Gabri
-> Navarro
Good defenders there. What they are missing is a world class act in the middle to partner Puyol. If Barcelona can get hold of a World Class defender then the team will be on another level. I think missing out on Cannavaro was a golden opportunity. Just imagine Cannavaro partnering Puyol in the middle and Barcelona is on another level totally. I am sure Barcelona could have offered somebody of Carini's credentials to Inter knowing that they wanted a third choice goalkeeper for the Italian captain and a world class defender.
However there are good backups and it depends on how well Puyol marshalls his defence. He is a natural leader so he has to lead from the front playing at the back.
Goalkeeper
-> Valdes
He was amazing vs. Real in the Bernabeu. The saves he made that night were fantastic. The kid's got skillz.
Starting Line-Up
4-2-3-1
-----------------------Valdes--------------------------
-
--Belletti-------Puyol----------Marquez-------Sylvinho--
-
----------------Edmilson------Xavi----------------------
-
----------Giuly----------Deco---------Ronaldinho--------
-
------------------------Eto'o---------------------------
Barcelona has options in defence where Oleguer can play in the middle and GVB can play as LB. Edmilson I would think will start as he would provide the balance by winning balls and then passing it on to Xavi or the rest to do their stuff. The offensive trio is well balanced and extremely dangerous. Deco would be the least flashy of the trio but then again he will help the defence the most as well so he has his plus points. Ronaldinho is explosive and vying to take Barcelona to the promised land ... a land where they have been to through a Ronald Koeman screamer in Wembley 12 years ago. It is a great feeling. He still has to do it in the UCL. His name and skills are not enough. He has to do it on the pitch and make his plays do the stuff that will guarantee deliverance. It is tougher than it seems to be. Rivaldo and Figo combined could not do it for Barcelona in Europe. There is huge expectation on this wonder kid's shoulders. He has to boldly go where no man (in the last decade for Barcelona) has gone before (and take his teammates with him)!
Barcelona is in a tight group and they have failed on their promise many times before so the side needs to know EXACTLY how difficult it is to get out of a rut and Barcelona is in ONE when it comes to the UCL. The side has played in many semis and quarters but WINNING is one thing and playing semis is another.