18 Yard Box analyses the 'Special one's' comments and determines as to why he stands corrected this time around.
The
guileless and frank Jose Mourinho had come out with another installment of his
mind games one and a half months ago. His rival coach Tito Vilonova has got Barcelona are off to an unbeaten start this season. However, Mourinho thinks otherwise of this 'golden
generation' of the Barcelona line-up.
Written By,
Rishabh Ghai
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Mourinho
claims to a France Football, "I think the time has come where people start
talking less about Barcelona, and that people are no longer trying to make
comparisons with them". He also went to say, "Why would people
talk about Barca? Real Madrid are Spanish champions, and Chelsea are European
champions. Barcelona are neither of the two at the moment."
It must be interesting to see what influence this comment bears
on the on-field performance of Barcelona. Less than convincing this season,
they have done a more than a decent job by going on an unbeaten streak since
the League campaign began.
18 Yard Box anaylses as to why Mourinho might just be wrong in saying what he has.
Loss of
Pep- Not a problem
Although Messi and Co. have stated publicly that they miss Pep
Guardiola, their on-field performance tells a different tale altogether.
Unbeaten all their matches barring the Spanish Supercopa second leg loss to
Madrid and their shock defeat to at the hands of Celtic this term, Tito Vilonova's men are well on their way to become champions
this season. Perched eight points above Real Madrid, Barcelona could well
repeat their 2010-11 season heroics this season. Tito Vilonova has done well to
justify his selection on the hot seat so far and has been tactically sound in
playing a similar formation to what Guardiola had been doing for so many years.
Inspite of having a major defensive crisis, Barcelona still have conceded only 15 goals in as 12 matches. Moreover, the most important thing is that
Vilonova has not caused major upheavals in the team during the transfer market
and has gone in with almost the same players barring the addition of Alex Song
and Jordi Alba. On pitch Barcelona dont look to be missing Pep at the moment.
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| Do they miss me? On field certianly not! |
Goal-scoring
department- Still the best
Messi and Co. have been right on the money this season as
Barcelona have scored a plethora of goals (39 so far) with a goal ratio of 3.25 per game compared to last season's 2.39 .With David Villa fit and raring to go,
the team looks stronger than ever. The 40 million signing has been out because
of an injury but has come back at the right time to strengthen his place in the
starting eleven alongside Messi. Its almost like a new signing for Barcelona as
he will add a whole new dimension to Barca's attack. Moreover, Alexis Sanchez
will also be expecting to get his chance to prove his worth and with the holy
trinity of him, Villa and Messi, Barcelona can wreck havoc in the other teams'
territories.
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| Messi and Villa have gone about their business this year too |
Midfield-
Still the strong point
Having
the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Busquests, Song, Adriano, Cuenca, Thiago
Alcantra to name a few, Barcelona possess a midfield like no other. The other
teams will surely be envious of such a pool of talent filled inside one vessel.
The midfield still have looked to gel well and has already combined to provide 24 assists in all competitions. No other team passes the ball with such
authority as they do. So certainly Barcelona still have set the benchmark for
other teams as far as midfield is concerned.
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| Barca midfield is in safe hands |
La Masia- The secret ingredient of their teamwork
Barcelona's tiki taka football comes from the team knowing each
other so well. This is because Barcelona grooms their player in this kind of a
way right from his admission in their famous La Masia academy. Although many
other teams have tried to copy this idea, Barcelona’s academy remains the best
till date in producing players who not only know how to pass but have such an
understanding that right from
defenders to strikers, the players know where they would find which player in
what area of the field. There is a saying that 'even if you shut the lights of the
stadium the Barca players will still find each other'. Breath-taking passing
alongwith clincal finishing surely shows that why they still are a 'team'
filled with superstars.
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| The La Masia academy |
Barca
are Barca because of their style of play
It has to be understood that saying ‘to be Barca’ and to
actually emulate them is quite different. Although many teams have tried to
replicate Barca’s style of play (Arsenal, Dortmund and Swansea to name a few),
it has been almost impossible for the players to treat the ball with so much
care and love as the Barca players do. Moreover, their style of play, of
dictating terms right from the back and passing the ball into the net, has
helped them better even the toughest of defenses. Even Mourinho once claimed
that he did not know how to defeat Barca. It takes years of perseverance and
loads of hardwork to get their style perfect. Not only this but playing with
the same players makes the understanding so perfect that if for instance Xavi plays
a surgeon-like incisive pass to Iniesta, for him its normal but for the world
its magic.
Comment: Barcelona create what one can say ‘art’ on the football field
which no other team in the world has been close enough to do so. Having won the
League thrice and Champions League twice under the Guardiola reign, they always
turn up with high expectations on them and rarely do they fail to
disappoint.
For Pep’s words, before his team went on to complete the
sextuple in December 2009, really paints the picture, when he said,
“If we
lose, we continue to be the best team in the world. If we win, we will be
eternal.”
Written By,
Rishabh Ghai
Rishabh is a writer for Goal.com India, International (all English editions) and an Editor and writer for 18 Yard Box.
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