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Camp Nou Gets Ready to Welcome Celtic
2008-03-04 08:35:00 As Barcelona prepares to host Celtic at Camp Nou, the biggest question on every bodies mind will be "What will Rijkaard be unto this evening?? Anyway Rijkaard has included Yaya and Bojan in the squad. We can expect Yaya to start the game since edmilson is excluded from the squad along with Giovanni. Marquez still hasn't recovered from his injury so he joins the injured list along with Ezquerra. The back four does not leave too much for Rijkaard for experimenting as Sylvinho is expected to start on the bench. But we might see Deco starting the lineup ahead of Iniesta. Deco has been Rijkaard's favorite even though his current form should place him automatically on the bench. I would love to see Gudjonsen in the starting line up as i thought he looked ok in the last match. But the biggest headache for Rijkaard will be to decide the front three. On current form it should be Ronaldinho, Eto and Messi who should be starting.Celtic away record in the Champions league may not be great, in... More About: Ready
Frank Rijkaard - Rafael Benitez of Spain?
2008-03-03 14:11:00 There are too many similarities with the men in charge of Liverpool and Barcelona. Both have been able to taste the success of Champions League, were very successful in Spain and both are also placed in the elite group of Managers. But is that all which unites them? Not at all! Both of them head a bunch of highly talented players available in Europe. Both of them have a highly functional brain, which works overtime to find the most stupid solutions for the most simplest of problems. They both have an addiction to the concept called "Rotation Policy", which both claims are due to their "Problem of Plenty". Benitez was able to convince me much early that he is a "Masterpiece in Operation". But with the last Saturday?s stunning blunders Rijkaard gave me the pleasure to announce that he is not afraid of any Benitez. Actually he showed us that he can get better of Benitez. Benitez has got lost in the EPL title race much faster than the Concord, at least at this moment he can only tr... More About: Frank , Rafael
Frank Rijkaard - Rafael Benitez of Spain?
2008-03-03 14:11:00 There are too many similarities with the men in charge of Liverpool and Barcelona. Both have been able to taste the success of Champions League, were very successful in Spain and both are also placed in the elite group of Managers. But is that all which unites them? Not at all! Both of them head a bunch of highly talented players available in Europe. Both of them have a highly functional brain, which works overtime to find the most stupid solutions for the most simplest of problems. They both have an addiction to the concept called "Rotation Policy", which both claims are due to their "Problem of Plenty". Benitez was able to convince me much early that he is a "Masterpiece in Operation". But with the last Saturday?s stunning blunders Rijkaard gave me the pleasure to announce that he is not afraid of any Benitez. Actually he showed us that he can get better of Benitez. Benitez has got lost in the EPL title race much faster than the Concord, at least at this moment he can only tr... More About: Frank , Rafael
Awaited Disaster; Athletico-4, Barcelona-2
2008-03-02 06:27:00 Last time when Barcelona visited Athletico, they thrashed the host by a whooping six goals. How ironic was the fact that yesterday's match also produced six goals; more ironic would be that Barcelona found at the receiving end of four of them. Athletico has done their city rivals a big favour by extending their lead to five points. The entire match was a case of Barcelona surprising themselves with the stupid rotation policy, anyway i will come back to that later. Barcelona started the match with Eto on the right, Ronnie on centre and Henry on left. Edmillson miserably tried to fill in the foot of Yaya.Barcelona started the game as clear favourite, they were in total control and Athletico looked like a completely confused outfit. They controlled the first hjalf but could not create any clear chances. Eto found the net after ten minutes only to be judged offside. There was no understanding between the forwards and it was majorly due to the facts that Eto was playing out of his posit... More About: Disaster
Awaited Disaster; Athletico-4, Barcelona-2
2008-03-02 06:27:00 Last time when Barcelona visited Athletico, they thrashed the host by a whooping six goals. How ironic was the fact that yesterday's match also produced six goals; more ironic would be that Barcelona found at the receiving end of four of them. Athletico has done their city rivals a big favour by extending their lead to five points. The entire match was a case of Barcelona surprising themselves with the stupid rotation policy, anyway i will come back to that later. Barcelona started the match with Eto on the right, Ronnie on centre and Henry on left. Edmillson miserably tried to fill in the foot of Yaya.Barcelona started the game as clear favourite, they were in total control and Athletico looked like a completely confused outfit. They controlled the first hjalf but could not create any clear chances. Eto found the net after ten minutes only to be judged offside. There was no understanding between the forwards and it was majorly due to the facts that Eto was playing out of his posit... More About: Disaster
Toure Rested
2008-03-01 15:05:00 Frank Rijkaard decided to rest the prolific defensive midfielder, Yaya Toure for the match against Athletico Madrid. Athletico have never been an easy place for Barcelona to travel. Eventhough their chief tormentor of previous years, Torres have left; still Athletico ia a very formidable side. This is where the decision to leave out Yaya Toure from such a crucial encounter might come back to haunt Rijkaard. After Yaya's return from the African nations cup there was a serious change in the way Barcelona played. Like many I also believe it was majorly because of the way Ronaldinho played in recent match. But Yaya's contribution to this sudden surge of form by Barcelona cannot be negated.Gudjonsen along with ronaldinho comes back to the side. Edmilson is expected to fill in Yaya's boots ; and god forbids if he have a bad game then Forlan and Kun Agüero will take the game away from us. Real Madrid will be travelling to Recretivo and will play the game at the same time. So may be we ...
Toure Rested
2008-03-01 15:05:00 Frank Rijkaard decided to rest the prolific defensive midfielder, Yaya Toure for the match against Athletico Madrid. Athletico have never been an easy place for Barcelona to travel. Eventhough their chief tormentor of previous years, Torres have left; still Athletico ia a very formidable side. This is where the decision to leave out Yaya Toure from such a crucial encounter might come back to haunt Rijkaard. After Yaya's return from the African nations cup there was a serious change in the way Barcelona played. Like many I also believe it was majorly because of the way Ronaldinho played in recent match. But Yaya's contribution to this sudden surge of form by Barcelona cannot be negated.Gudjonsen along with ronaldinho comes back to the side. Edmilson is expected to fill in Yaya's boots ; and god forbids if he have a bad game then Forlan and Kun Agüero will take the game away from us. Real Madrid will be travelling to Recretivo and will play the game at the same time. So may be we ...
Tie Tantalisingly Poised; Barcelona-1,Valencia-1
2008-02-28 05:49:00 Xavi's last gasp equaliser gave Barcelona a very well deserving equaliser in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi final tie. Valencia went ahead against the run of play with a free flowing counter attack which was well finished by David Villa. For almost all the 90 minutes it looked like a match where Barcelona will never find a way past the Goal Keeper. But Xavi found the equaliser in the dying moments when he found the net after a wonderful run by Eto. Barcelona would have been hard done if they were to be condemned to defeat after having almost all the chances in the match. Any other season Valencia escaping from Nou Camp with a away goal would mean the end of the story for Barcelona, but then this season Valencia is nowhere near the best and the way they played at Nou Camp gives ample hope for Barcelona to beat them at Valencia. The match began in the expected fashion with Barcelona having a tremendous triple chance in the seventh minute. He denied Xavi from a close range,...
Tie Tantalisingly Poised; Barcelona-1,Valencia-1
2008-02-28 05:49:00 Xavi's last gasp equaliser gave Barcelona a very well deserving equaliser in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi final tie. Valencia went ahead against the run of play with a free flowing counter attack which was well finished by David Villa. For almost all the 90 minutes it looked like a match where Barcelona will never find a way past the Goal Keeper. But Xavi found the equaliser in the dying moments when he found the net after a wonderful run by Eto. Barcelona would have been hard done if they were to be condemned to defeat after having almost all the chances in the match. Any other season Valencia escaping from Nou Camp with a away goal would mean the end of the story for Barcelona, but then this season Valencia is nowhere near the best and the way they played at Nou Camp gives ample hope for Barcelona to beat them at Valencia. The match began in the expected fashion with Barcelona having a tremendous triple chance in the seventh minute. He denied Xavi from a close range,...
Copa Del Rey Semi Final, First leg Preview
2008-02-27 06:15:00 Rijkaard have excluded Ronaldinho from the crucial first leg of the Cop Del Rey Semi Final against Valencia. The decision came as a surprise especially considering the fact that Valencia will have an advantage of playing the return leg at home. Along with Ronaldinho, Rijkaard has rested Sylvinho, Gudjonsen, Giovanni and Rafael Marquez also for this match. Marquez is out with pain in his foot and others are excluded as he can have only a 16 man squad for Copa Del Rey as opposed to the 18 in the league. Deco and Henry are back in the squad. Henry should start the match on the left along with Eto and Messi. But the unluckiest one will be Iniesta who is sure to miss out of a starting role and have to wait for his opportunity on the bench. There should not be much change in the back four, but the only thing that has to be seen is where Pinto will get an opportunity under the Goal. For Valencia, their last encounter with Barcelona was a forgettable affair. The Catalans ran riot in the... More About: Preview
Copa Del Rey Semi Final, First leg Preview
2008-02-27 06:15:00 Rijkaard have excluded Ronaldinho from the crucial first leg of the Cop Del Rey Semi Final against Valencia. The decision came as a surprise especially considering the fact that Valencia will have an advantage of playing the return leg at home. Along with Ronaldinho, Rijkaard has rested Sylvinho, Gudjonsen, Giovanni and Rafael Marquez also for this match. Marquez is out with pain in his foot and others are excluded as he can have only a 16 man squad for Copa Del Rey as opposed to the 18 in the league. Deco and Henry are back in the squad. Henry should start the match on the left along with Eto and Messi. But the unluckiest one will be Iniesta who is sure to miss out of a starting role and have to wait for his opportunity on the bench. There should not be much change in the back four, but the only thing that has to be seen is where Pinto will get an opportunity under the Goal. For Valencia, their last encounter with Barcelona was a forgettable affair. The Catalans ran riot in the... More About: Preview
Beauty is Back; Barcelona-5, Levante-1
2008-02-25 07:26:00 With a scintillating performance against Levante at Home, Barcelona 's return to the beautiful football they play is complete. They looked very comfortable, and is no surprise that all this is happening because Ronaldinho is finally enjoying his football. With Getafe condemning Real Madrid to their first home defeat of this season, Barcelona finds the leaders a mere two points away. The best thing is that everything now lies in the hands of Barcelona. If they can continue their good form at worse they can decide the title race at Barnebeu. Nobody expected miracles from Levante; the entire match was watched or looked upon to decide whether the good signs shown at Celtic park were just a Mirage. But Barcelona with their performance has reignited the hopes of a wonderful treble. I know its a little premature, but then human minds can't stop dreaming isn't it? Barcelona started the match with Henry and Deco given a break from the hectic schedule. Messi, Eto and Ronaldinho joined to... More About: Beauty , Back
Beauty is Back; Barcelona-5, Levante-1
2008-02-25 07:26:00 With a scintillating performance against Levante at Home, Barcelona 's return to the beautiful football they play is complete. They looked very comfortable, and is no surprise that all this is happening because Ronaldinho is finally enjoying his football. With Getafe condemning Real Madrid to their first home defeat of this season, Barcelona finds the leaders a mere two points away. The best thing is that everything now lies in the hands of Barcelona. If they can continue their good form at worse they can decide the title race at Barnebeu. Nobody expected miracles from Levante; the entire match was watched or looked upon to decide whether the good signs shown at Celtic park were just a Mirage. But Barcelona with their performance has reignited the hopes of a wonderful treble. I know its a little premature, but then human minds can't stop dreaming isn't it? Barcelona started the match with Henry and Deco given a break from the hectic schedule. Messi, Eto and Ronaldinho joined to... More About: Beauty , Back
A Fantastic Thriller; Celtic-2, Barcelona-3
2008-02-21 07:06:00 After a long time, indeed a very long time we got a chance to witness the awesome firepower in the Barcelona ranks. With their performance against Celtic they might have again reignited the hope of seeing the magnificent Barcelona again. One of the main reason of Barcelona's awesome display was a very much improved performance, may be his best this season by the biggest of all stars - Ronaldinho. As I described in the Zaragoza match report he looked very comfortable on the pitch. Rijkaard threw up some surprises when he put Ronaldinho in the starting eleven. Eto rightly was not rushed into competitive match and started in the bench. But biggest surprise for me was Deco's presence in the starting line up, he was erratic in the early matches and i expected him to be dropped. Rijkaard decided to place his trust on him and he did absolute justice to his manager's decision making skill. With a 3-2 win Barcelona almost have placed a foot in the next round. But complacency will be Barce... More About: Thriller
A Fantastic Thriller; Celtic-2, Barcelona-3
2008-02-21 07:06:00 After a long time, indeed a very long time we got a chance to witness the awesome firepower in the Barcelona ranks. With their performance against Celtic they might have again reignited the hope of seeing the magnificent Barcelona again. One of the main reason of Barcelona's awesome display was a very much improved performance, may be his best this season by the biggest of all stars - Ronaldinho. As I described in the Zaragoza match report he looked very comfortable on the pitch. Rijkaard threw up some surprises when he put Ronaldinho in the starting eleven. Eto rightly was not rushed into competitive match and started in the bench. But biggest surprise for me was Deco's presence in the starting line up, he was erratic in the early matches and i expected him to be dropped. Rijkaard decided to place his trust on him and he did absolute justice to his manager's decision making skill. With a 3-2 win Barcelona almost have placed a foot in the next round. But complacency will be Barce... More About: Thriller
A God Send Victory
2008-02-17 06:16:00 I don't think there is anything which is more God send than this victory at Zaragoza. The second Barcelona Goal came through a penalty, which got even the most optimistic Barcelona supporters surprised. Barcelona entered the match after receiving the good news that Real Madrid has slipped in Betis. Earlier I have written a post Accepting The Inevitable in which i described how difficult is for Madrid to lose matches now. I was proven wrong in the second successive occasion when Madrid lost their second consecutive away match. In that post I have written that it is hard for this Barcelona team to win all the matches, I was again proved wrong by God this time. AnywayBarcelona successfully cut down the lead to five points as if now. Zaragoza may feel hard done by luck as they expected to take away atleast a point from this match, but then inability to convert for the second time from a string of chances might have proved their nemesis.Barcelona started with Giovani, Henry and Messi up... More About: Victory , Send
A God Send Victory
2008-02-17 06:16:00 I don't think there is anything which is more God send than this victory at Zaragoza. The second Barcelona Goal came through a penalty, which got even the most optimistic Barcelona supporters surprised. Barcelona entered the match after receiving the good news that Real Madrid has slipped in Betis. Earlier I have written a post Accepting The Inevitable in which i described how difficult is for Madrid to lose matches now. I was proven wrong in the second successive occasion when Madrid lost their second consecutive away match. In that post I have written that it is hard for this Barcelona team to win all the matches, I was again proved wrong by God this time. AnywayBarcelona successfully cut down the lead to five points as if now. Zaragoza may feel hard done by luck as they expected to take away atleast a point from this match, but then inability to convert for the second time from a string of chances might have proved their nemesis.Barcelona started with Giovani, Henry and Messi up... More About: Victory , Send
Rijkaard's Future and The Mourinho Option
2008-02-11 06:57:00 After his failure to win a substantial trophy last season, Rijkaard is under immense pressure to avoid the same this season. His best chance lies in landing the Copa Del Rey cup. Many sections in Media and fans are asking for his removal, but does removing Rijkaard will solve Barcelona?s entire problem? Rijkaard for me have been very soft on some of the superstars in the team, but then it does not surprise you - as they have done so much for him. Or in other words, they all together have climbed many heights. A person who has been linked too much for the Barcelona job in the wake of Rijkaard leaving is - José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho . Everybody expected Mourinho to fill the job for his previous experience with Barcelona. But anyway John Laporta for the time being, rightly has put an end to all those rumours by giving the boards backing for Frank Rijkaard. But by the end of season, especially if they can't create a spectacular turn around in the League, we might hear those ca... More About: Future
Rijkaard's Future and The Mourinho Option
2008-02-11 06:57:00 After his failure to win a substantial trophy last season, Rijkaard is under immense pressure to avoid the same this season. His best chance lies in landing the Copa Del Rey cup. Many sections in Media and fans are asking for his removal, but does removing Rijkaard will solve Barcelona?s entire problem? Rijkaard for me have been very soft on some of the superstars in the team, but then it does not surprise you - as they have done so much for him. Or in other words, they all together have climbed many heights. A person who has been linked too much for the Barcelona job in the wake of Rijkaard leaving is - José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho . Everybody expected Mourinho to fill the job for his previous experience with Barcelona. But anyway John Laporta for the time being, rightly has put an end to all those rumours by giving the boards backing for Frank Rijkaard. But by the end of season, especially if they can't create a spectacular turn around in the League, we might hear those ca... More About: Future
Hard Luck Sevilla: Sevilla-1,Barcelona-1
2008-02-10 05:48:00 Sevilla might be cursing their luck after Barcelona managed to take a draw from a match in which they shut off barcelona completely till the 75th minute. Sevilla showed the signs of the previous season, which took them to enormous sucess. If it was not for a sudden, unexpected Goal from Xavi and sending of Keita, Barcelona might have staing again at a nine point lead. Now it will only become eight point lead, is that too much of variation - God Knows? In contrast to Sevilla's goal, which came everyone expected it to come, Barcelona's Goal came from no where. Sevilla will have only themselves to blame as they could have shut off Barcelona with atleast a dozen goals. The official Barcelona site reports " With commitment and a desire to win, Barça managed a draw in the always difficult Sevilla stadium. " Maybe I was sleeping as I didn't see any above mentioned commitment or desire. Maybe only the clever gets to see it, and obviously I am dumb.Rijkaard staretd with Oleguer at Right B... More About: Hard , Sevilla , Luck
Hard Luck Sevilla: Sevilla-1,Barcelona-1
2008-02-10 05:48:00 Sevilla might be cursing their luck after Barcelona managed to take a draw from a match in which they shut off barcelona completely till the 75th minute. Sevilla showed the signs of the previous season, which took them to enormous sucess. If it was not for a sudden, unexpected Goal from Xavi and sending of Keita, Barcelona might have staing again at a nine point lead. Now it will only become eight point lead, is that too much of variation - God Knows? In contrast to Sevilla's goal, which came everyone expected it to come, Barcelona's Goal came from no where. Sevilla will have only themselves to blame as they could have shut off Barcelona with atleast a dozen goals. The official Barcelona site reports " With commitment and a desire to win, Barça managed a draw in the always difficult Sevilla stadium. " Maybe I was sleeping as I didn't see any above mentioned commitment or desire. Maybe only the clever gets to see it, and obviously I am dumb.Rijkaard staretd with Oleguer at Right B... More About: Hard , Sevilla , Luck
Bojan and Giovani - Firmly Striding Forward
2008-02-09 09:14:00 In the begining of this season it was clear that the two wonderfully talented kids - Bojan and Giovani ,from Barcelona youth Academy will get their first taste of first team football. But a series of injuries and loss of form of the senior players have made sure that both of them remain an integral part of Barcelona team this season. In the start of season , there was too much of pressure on Rijkaard to include them in the side inorder to avoid other clubs robbing them. In contrast to some of their seniors who went in search for better shores, these two had made it clear in advance that their future lies with Barcelona. Giovnani was expected to make a sizeable number of appearances and Bojan was expected to make his debut this season. But as destined they both have made a sizeable number of appearances and also have made it into starting eleven on many number of occasion. This also has a downside with fans and media criticising them (like Giovani was criticised some game before) for... More About: Bojan Krkic , Forward
Bojan and Giovani - Firmly Striding Forward
2008-02-09 09:14:00 In the begining of this season it was clear that the two wonderfully talented kids - Bojan and Giovani ,from Barcelona youth Academy will get their first taste of first team football. But a series of injuries and loss of form of the senior players have made sure that both of them remain an integral part of Barcelona team this season. In the start of season , there was too much of pressure on Rijkaard to include them in the side inorder to avoid other clubs robbing them. In contrast to some of their seniors who went in search for better shores, these two had made it clear in advance that their future lies with Barcelona. Giovnani was expected to make a sizeable number of appearances and Bojan was expected to make his debut this season. But as destined they both have made a sizeable number of appearances and also have made it into starting eleven on many number of occasion. This also has a downside with fans and media criticising them (like Giovani was criticised some game before) for... More About: Bojan Krkic , Forward
Barcelona Goes To Sevilla
2008-02-08 05:59:00 Now its confirmed that Barcelona will miss the service of Bojan and Zambrotta for the upcoming crunch match against Sevilla . Zambrotta will be out for a week with the injury he picked up in the match against Portugal. Bojan, who is still suffering from gastroenteritis, which has delayed his much published debut for Spain. Barcelona is unbeaten in the last eight away matches in all competition - in the league they have drawn twice and won twice. But remaining unbeaten does not solve Barcelona's problem. As everyone knows they have to pick up every available point in order to launch a final assault on the Championship. Mexican internationals Rafa Márquez and Giovani dos Santos are expected to be back in Barcelona by Friday after a friendly match against United States. Rijkaard had a depleted squad for yesterday's training because of the international duties (i will not call it a commitment) of the players. The players who trained at La Masía are Milito, Oleguer, Xavi, Valdes, Edmils...
Barcelona Goes To Sevilla
2008-02-08 05:59:00 Now its confirmed that Barcelona will miss the service of Bojan and Zambrotta for the upcoming crunch match against Sevilla . Zambrotta will be out for a week with the injury he picked up in the match against Portugal. Bojan, who is still suffering from gastroenteritis, which has delayed his much published debut for Spain. Barcelona is unbeaten in the last eight away matches in all competition - in the league they have drawn twice and won twice. But remaining unbeaten does not solve Barcelona's problem. As everyone knows they have to pick up every available point in order to launch a final assault on the Championship. Mexican internationals Rafa Márquez and Giovani dos Santos are expected to be back in Barcelona by Friday after a friendly match against United States. Rijkaard had a depleted squad for yesterday's training because of the international duties (i will not call it a commitment) of the players. The players who trained at La Masía are Milito, Oleguer, Xavi, Valdes, Edmils...
Best 'La Liga' Blog Nomination
2008-02-06 11:39:00 Its with great hapiness I am writing that this blog has been nominated for the 'Best La Liga Blog ' award at SoccerLens Readers Choice Award. It also give me great pride to be placed in the league of best in the blogging world such as Fcbnews.com, Forca Barca etc. This nomination would provide me enthusiasm to continue my work with more passion. If you like this blog and think high about this Please take the time to vote for me Vote For Me. Let the best blog win. More About: Nomination , La Liga
Best 'La Liga' Blog Nomination
2008-02-06 11:39:00 Its with great hapiness I am writing that this blog has been nominated for the 'Best La Liga Blog ' award at SoccerLens Readers Choice Award. It also give me great pride to be placed in the league of best in the blogging world such as Fcbnews.com, Forca Barca etc. This nomination would provide me enthusiasm to continue my work with more passion. If you like this blog and think high about this Please take the time to vote for me Vote For Me. Let the best blog win. More About: Nomination , La Liga
Cutting the Lead Down : Barcelona-1,Osasuna-0
2008-02-04 06:27:00 It took an 87th minute desperate goal from Xavi to keep Barcelona 's title ambitions from sinking down. Barcelona is now six points away from the leader and if they can keep winning their rest of the games, it will only take a single help from one team to overcome Madrid. With Madrid's loss of Saturday Barcelona knew what they have o do and did that in some unconvincing fashion. They looked much better than the 1-0 goal line suggested, but it was the Camp Nou turf which almost proved to be their nemesis. Camp Nou had a great share of rain and the turf was soaked in water at almost everywhere. Osasuna looked much better to handle the turf than Barcelona. Barcelona started with Thuram joining Milito in the back, which was a surprise to me. I thought Marquez will move back. Anyway I was luckily proved wrong as if it was not for Thuram we would have been in deep trouble. He was the best Barcelona player on the pitch and the only one who looked to have adjusted to the wet turf. Ba... More About: Lead , Cutting
Cutting the Lead Down : Barcelona-1,Osasuna-0
2008-02-04 06:27:00 It took an 87th minute desperate goal from Xavi to keep Barcelona 's title ambitions from sinking down. Barcelona is now six points away from the leader and if they can keep winning their rest of the games, it will only take a single help from one team to overcome Madrid. With Madrid's loss of Saturday Barcelona knew what they have o do and did that in some unconvincing fashion. They looked much better than the 1-0 goal line suggested, but it was the Camp Nou turf which almost proved to be their nemesis. Camp Nou had a great share of rain and the turf was soaked in water at almost everywhere. Osasuna looked much better to handle the turf than Barcelona. Barcelona started with Thuram joining Milito in the back, which was a surprise to me. I thought Marquez will move back. Anyway I was luckily proved wrong as if it was not for Thuram we would have been in deep trouble. He was the best Barcelona player on the pitch and the only one who looked to have adjusted to the wet turf. Ba... More About: Lead , Cutting
An Unexpected Ray of Hope
More articles from this author:2008-02-03 13:18:00 Its strange how Hope chose to resurrect itself from its deep slumber now and then. Barcelona's title hopes were revived yesterday by the most unlikeliest source of it all - Almeria. Almeria are currently at the seventh spot but nobody expected to beat Real Madrid - and that too by a 2-0 margin. Juanito Gutierrez put the hosts ahead after 18 minutes through a goal which might be put on question about its validity. Alvaro Negredo doubled the lead just after half-time from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Fabio Cannavaro. It didn't come as a surprise that they kept another clean sheet, five in a row.Almeria buyoed by their excellent defensive record faced the with a defensive mind set up. They were clinical in defense and when they got the window of oppurtunity, they made Madrid pay. But the real beneficiary would be Barcelona which may find themselves reducing the lead to six points, provided they win. With last week draw with Athletic every hope seemed to lose. B... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |



