The Ultimate Football Thread 2013-2014 Vol. 4 EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A etc

Celta and Bilbao just played a great first half.

Rafinha is ballin all over the place. It's amazing how much he's developed this year. He's gonna be better than Thiago if he continues playing like this. Now i'm mad we have Sergi Roberto instead of Rafinha this season.
 
I was rewatching a little bit of the Verona vs Juve game off of my DVR before I deleted it..

Man Progba is becoming a really good player. It's amazing that he's so young.

Mario Gomez was in the stands for the Fiorentina vs Atalanta game... Interesting...
 
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psk2310 said:
So Barca is interested in 17 year old Croatian Alen Halilovic. He's an attacking mid (right side) but may end up being a striker... He's also been linked to Arsenal & Tottenham...
Click to expand...

I read that DZ rejected Barca's bid for 3.6mil. Not sure if it's been confirmed or not.
27812-alen-halilovic-with-Zalatn.jpg

:pimp: :pimp:
 
Mastamind89 said:
psk2310 said:
So Barca is interested in 17 year old Croatian Alen Halilovic. He's an attacking mid (right side) but may end up being a striker... He's also been linked to Arsenal & Tottenham...
Click to expand...

I read that DZ rejected Barca's bid for 3.6mil. Not sure if it's been confirmed or not.
Click to expand...

I read it was rejected too but his contract is up this summer so he'll be free to go wherever he wants. He's been quoted as saying he think it's time to move on to a bigger club. It seems when he does move, clubs want him to play as a striker. I've never seen him play except for youtube which you can't really trust.

Saw an amazing vid of Jese at 16 dribbling around a defender on ESPN FC today but I couldn't find it on youtube...
 
psk2310 said:
Mastamind89 said:
psk2310 said:
So Barca is interested in 17 year old Croatian Alen Halilovic. He's an attacking mid (right side) but may end up being a striker... He's also been linked to Arsenal & Tottenham...
Click to expand...

I read that DZ rejected Barca's bid for 3.6mil. Not sure if it's been confirmed or not.
Click to expand...

I read it was rejected too but his contract is up this summer so he'll be free to go wherever he wants. He's been quoted as saying he think it's time to move on to a bigger club. It seems when he does move, clubs want him to play as a striker. I've never seen him play except for youtube which you can't really trust.

Saw an amazing vid of Jese at 16 dribbling around a defender on ESPN FC today but I couldn't find it on youtube...
Click to expand...

Yea, I'm sure they want to keep him but I think his mind is set on leaving so it's about getting more money now. But I haven't come across that striker detail yet, interesting though. I can't really judge, like you i've only really seen clips of him. But regardless I hope it works out for him.

That reminds me of player Arsenal has on loan. CM, was supposed to be a Diaby/Toure type of player but as of this season during his loan at Crewe, they started playing him as a CF/ST. Not something I saw coming

Apparently Fabianaski rejected a contract extension
 
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That Ronaldinho pic is :pimp: but it's old...

I hope "Italy's third division" is code for adult league, because that pitch is :x
 
IMASOLEMAN18 said:
doesnt look like a man who wants to leave the club any time soon
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Was the second goal before they got tied? 

If so, can't even be mad. Must suck knowing you won the league the year before and this year you're struggling to win against mid tier teams in the EPL. I, too, would be euphoric.
 
psk2310 said:
I get the impression that Tata has to deal with a political element within Camp Nou that he's not happy about. One that prevents him from doing the things he'd like (that are needed). The same element that drove Pep out.

I don't think he gets to push these guys harder in practice or get them in the weight room to train harder which is something he was known for in Argentina both with Newell's & the Paraguayan NT.

The teams he managed pressed very hard & to do so they were in top shape. There were reports a short while ago that Tata was thinking about stepping down after this campaign because of the intense media scrutiny. If true, I think it had less to do with media scrutiny & more having to deal with the political element within Barca.

He ended up stating he wasn't going anywhere & I don't want him to go but I hope since Rosell is thankfully out, FCB can move in the direction needed.

I think the next person that needs to go is Zubi & although it probably won't happen, I think a new election needs to be held before 2016.
Click to expand...

Well they no longer press in numbers by design because they lose shape when they do, and cornerstone players like Xavi and Alves can no longer cover the ground to make up for it like they used to. I don't think it has much to do with conditioning, but there's certainly an imbalance. I think the midfield could use more mobility - maybe a 343 next season or a different midfielder to play at the base next to Busquets.

That play you cited was all on Montoya btw, and Pique didn't do anything wrong. He waited for the escape pass that never came, and tracked the secondary runner. The criticism of him is certainly deserved at times, but he and Alves have been the best defenders this season and he has been outstanding in the big matches. I get it though, he's an easy target, but playing with Mascherano and Alba makes his job very difficult. And what's overlooked is that his passing and technical ability are as good as any CB's.
100% agree on elections. Should happen this summer.


Rafool said:
He's still the best number 10 in the world though.
Click to expand...

Perhaps if you go by the strict definition of the position. But Bayern, Barça, and now Real Madrid all use formations that don't have a proper #10, but have players that would be better than Ozil in the role.




Ozil isn't the busiest of players, and has a languid style that gives him a 'lazy' vibe, but his main job is to manipulate space for teammates- which he does extremely well. The problem is that there's a lack of movement around him to optimize his ability. Ideally, it would be Walcott to the right, and a top striker in front of him. Gooners should be more concerned with Wilshere's play.

I do wonder if Zidane would have been criticized more at the club level if he played in today's media and fan environment. Like Ozil, he's a player that drifted in and out of games and went missing at times, but was always capable of providing that moment of genius. Partly explains why he only won one league title at RM, and was regularly outshone by AdP at Juve. Game to game, he wasn't always great as his godlike reputation nowadays suggests.
 
abovelegit1 said:
psk2310 said:
I get the impression that Tata has to deal with a political element within Camp Nou that he's not happy about. One that prevents him from doing the things he'd like (that are needed). The same element that drove Pep out.

I don't think he gets to push these guys harder in practice or get them in the weight room to train harder which is something he was known for in Argentina both with Newell's & the Paraguayan NT.

The teams he managed pressed very hard & to do so they were in top shape. There were reports a short while ago that Tata was thinking about stepping down after this campaign because of the intense media scrutiny. If true, I think it had less to do with media scrutiny & more having to deal with the political element within Barca.

He ended up stating he wasn't going anywhere & I don't want him to go but I hope since Rosell is thankfully out, FCB can move in the direction needed.

I think the next person that needs to go is Zubi & although it probably won't happen, I think a new election needs to be held before 2016.
Click to expand...

Well they no longer press in numbers by design because they lose shape when they do, and cornerstone players like Xavi and Alves can no longer cover the ground to make up for it like they used to. I don't think it has much to do with conditioning, but there's certainly an imbalance. I think the midfield could use more mobility - maybe a 343 next season or a different midfielder to play at the base next to Busquets.

That play you cited was all on Montoya btw, and Pique didn't do anything wrong. He waited for the escape pass that never came, and tracked the secondary runner. The criticism of him is certainly deserved at times, but he and Alves have been the best defenders this season and he has been outstanding in the big matches. I get it though, he's an easy target, but playing with Mascherano and Alba makes his job very difficult. And what's overlooked is that his passing and technical ability are as good as any CB's.

100% agree on elections. Should happen this summer.
Click to expand...

I was being hypercritical of the play you replied about because I thought he or Montoya were caught behind the 8ball to begin with. In this instance, I would blame Pique more for that because he's been doing that all campaign, really the last 3 years (in which is form has declined). Having said that overall he played terribly & is almost the sole reason Seville were such a threat in the beginning.

I disagree about Pique being one of the best defenders for the Blaugrana though, Bartra has shown the most consistency all campaign out of anyone in the back 4. Alves has been inconsistent to. Perhaps it is indeed having to cover for Masch & Alba but Alves hasn't looked very fit & has been prone to silly fouls (while arguing that he didn't foul).

What good is passing & technical ability if Pique can't do his core role consistently & that's defend? He hasn't been consistent at all this campaign which has been the consistent story for the last 3 years...
 
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