Neymar may be good, but that’s not what they need. They need a GK, a CB, and another CM. But instead they went out and got Neymar.
Neymar is good, I don’t think he’s that good. They’ll still probably win the league, but more to do with the rest of Liga falling apart.
Shame to see Uzbekistan missing out, they’ve been the rising powers of Asian football for years now, and barely miss out on qualification every year. However, they have a deep youth program.
Concacaf needs to make the Gold Cup every four years. This summer’s tournament has nothing to play for and we will see a lot of B Squads. Such a waste.
Hasta la final, España! Viva!
I agree with the lost generation comment by Palantir, but I still don’t feel that the younger ones will be as good as the players that retired in the last few years.
About Diego, it’s hard to pinpoint. If I recall correctly, last time he was called the team didn’t want him to go and he didn’t made an effort to ask for it (or so I was told). Maybe the soccer federation got a grudge against him. More likely, he just isn’t that much better or worse than the current squad and so Scolari likes other people better.
On Neymar, I don’t think he’s that good right now, but he has some potential. I think the brazilian tournament actually held him back. His team is weak, and so he tries to solve things alone. He is used to play against weak defenses. Referees in Brazil concede faults more easily, so he throws himself on the ground a little too often.
In Barça, he may get better at the collective game, improve physically, practice against better defenses, and won’t fall as much. He is very agile and may get much better from the european training. But I don’t think he can be a Messi or Ronaldo (any Ronaldo).
In other news, Spain U21 is wiping the floor with Italy. This team is stacked. Thiago, Illaramendi, De Gea, Tello, Isco. Even Dani Carvajal who was good for Leverkusen doesn’t start over Montoya, and Muniain is on the bench.
Spain has a weird problem, their upcoming generation is very good, but they haven’t replaced the current generation, and the current generation is old. I think Mata should be the No.9, Arbeloa has no business being a RB, he’s more of a utility man. Javi Martinez needs to start, and perhaps they need to think of a plan B for Xavi’s creaky knees. Then again, I’m not VDB…
Spain doesn’t need a number 9…they play false 9. That’s why Villa and Torres havent seen the field in a while. This style of play works for them like Barca…even though I hate Barca.
Mata isnt a traditional 9
Spain are mental…just so dominant.
Not a fan of the false 9. They looked best with someone ready to run beyond the backline ie torres in his prime.That’s when xavi and iniesta really threaten. Let them stick with soldado up front.
The german’s are catching up though. reus,muller,gotze,ozil,kroos are classy players. ilkay and bastian behind them is a great base.
Surprised at the diss neymar’s getting. He looked good,quick feet,head up,turn of pace and technique. Barca needed him to take some of the pressure of messi. Who knows if he’s the garricha to messi’s pele we’re in for a treat…
Yes I agree… Generally a fan of Real Madrid, but Neymar along with Messi is going to be brilliant.
Hope I do clear the L3 though, otherwise would have to blo.dy miss these matches again :(((((
I’m actually diggin soldado up front, dude just needs to be refined a bit. Is Villa still in shitty health? I’d like to see him as 9 if they went that way, he had sick finishes.
Villa’s health should be fine, he’s just not a starter for Barca unfortunately. Which IMO is a mistake,…
I’d like to see Mata as the 9, then maybe Soldado and thirdly Villa.
This team needs to be refreshed, Arbeloa has no business starting, he’s not a true RB and Spain has 3 (!) good right backs. Also, need a backup plan for Xavi. Can that be Cazorla? Idk, but Cazorla plays higher for Arse.
Arbeloa does a great job of stopping peoples plays…even if it’s dirty at times…he’s like a Mascherano but for Spain in that respect.
Villa is not a starter for Barca because he is not a puto Catalan or a foreigner. He should play for a real Spanish club or go play in the EPL or Bundesliga and not Barca. He is wasting his talent
That’s true, but a RB’s main job is to provide width…he’s a good defender, but doesn’t add much offensively.
Villa is never going to leave Spain. Atletico could be an option for him. He doesn’t start because he’s not a tikitaka player, and Messi has to be the no.9 because of some stupid rule. It makes the game too dependent upon Messi, but o well. Barca’s transfer policy is so dumb…spent ridiculous amounts of money on Zlatan, Cesc, Dmitryo, and now Neymar…but who needs a defense? Team in decline.
Yea I suppose. I mean he is up there making himself available and stealing balls (no homo?)…but he’s not that good at creating plays so Spain has better options. I’ve always said Barca is in decline…Hala Madrid niggas!!!
I think it’s more about getting headlines and selling shirts than building the best team. Real Madrid did that a lot (they hired Beckham and Owen when they already had Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Raul). It didn’t work that well for them (results-wise).
Maybe the best investment Barca made in a while was Jordi Alba. It’s nice to have a strong bench with Villa, Sanchez, Fabregas, Pedro/Neymar and what not, but it does feel like a waste when Valdes is their eternal goalkeeper and they lack good options when Puyol gets hurt.
Nice to see we have some football fans on AF.
Divemar is all hype. He has few moments of flair but there’s no way he carries a team to any sort of success at the UEFA level. The Brazil team looks good on paper but for some reason they just didn’t look very good against Japan. David Luiz, Oscar,Lucas, Thiago Silva are all studs but then they just didn’t look all that great.
Espana looked absolutely sick. I can’t believe Xavi is playing at such a high level and he’s going into his 4th WC. It’s also a shame that Iniesta exists in the Messi age because he’s also one of the best. The only bad thing about the Spanish team is the diving and the extra acting after every foul. That’s honestly destroying the game. Aside from that, they are lots of fun to watch. Also watching Isco and Thiago Alcantara do damage at the U-21 level makes it seem like Spain has a bright future.
All that being said, it’s been fun to watch. Hope my home country Nigeria makes it out of the group stages and at least makes some noise in the semis. Hopefully we can put up resistance against 2 tough opponents in Uruguay and Spain. Keyword: Hopefully. Good individual talents but no sense of teamwork. Really sad ordeal.
^
ha ha. i was in lagos when kanu lifted the olympic cup against argentina. brilliant scenes. Doubt the super eagles will reach those heights again. Babangida,west,sunday oliseh,george finidi and jay-jay okocha. Brilliant.
I still maintain that there is some substance behind the neymar hype. His goal record is outrageous for a wide forward even if it’s a ‘weaker league’. More importantly unlike robinho et all his head is always up. Ronaldo at his age still used to play with his head down.
Villa is perfect for tiki-taka. Its just that tito want’s barca to play more direct and he’s fallen out of favor. Barca needed a attacker to take the pressure of messi. Their next signing will shore up their spine + batra and muniesa coming through.
and the heir to xavi? javi martinez say’s hi
Javi Martinez is a DM.
Barca may need more attackers to take pressure off messi but the problem is that their system is putting too much pressure on Messi in the first place…bringing another player wont solve that. I personally hate the idea of spending big money on high profile attackers, I don’t think it works that well. I’d rather find talented young guys and develop them - Barca does have those. Cuenca, Tello, Deulofeu.
I think Barca wants Mats Hummels.
Good ol days. Made out debt WC appearance in 94, won the gold in 96, second round appearance topping Spain in a thrilling 3-2 victory that included this goal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_gPP7RVedA Good times. I’m thinking Spain will get their revenge this weekend.
Anyhow, Barca’s best investment in recent times was Jordi Alba. Fits well into their style of play, has pace for days and contributes on both O and D. The ones I don’t get are purchases like Fabregas. Why buy him just to sit him down eventually? Same with Villa, Alex Song and others. They really don’t need to because their academy breeds a lot of this top talent. Almost seems as though they are impulse purchases. At least they’re not as bone headed as purchases by Man City. Those guys just buy because they can.
Disclosure: I’m an Arsenal fan so I may be against the whole spend massively to win philosophy. Wenger has sucked me in. (no homo)
Speaking of which, these guys have the life. Make 6 figures weekly, then fly stateside to party it up. Ran into Andy Carroll and Joe Cole this past weekend in Vegas. Andy Carroll is your typical ‘oh i’m English and this is my first drink ever’ sloppy drinker and Joe Cole is the ‘i’m going to be prime minister one day’ type of drinker.