FC Barcelona : Ideal Starting Line-up for 2010-11 Season

New footballing season is upon us and with the announcement of Cesc Fabregas staying at Arsenal the business is over for the club at the transfer market for now. The two signings this season, namely David Villa from Valencia and Adriano from Sevilla are in my opinion nothing less than perfect for the style of play. The manager Josep Guardiola has signed an extension for another year and has already made it very clear that the club objectives are to win it all again just like they did in his very first year as a manager. Let us now discuss the most efficient starting line-up for arguably the best footballing team on the planet at present.

The formation is a typical attacking formation of 4-3-3.

Goalkeeper : VICTOR VALDES

There is not really any competition for this one. Pinto is a decent keeper as well but is prone to accidents as we saw against all star K- League and Ruben Mino is still very young. More over Valdes has a lot of experience and has proved himself at this level.

Right Back : DANIEL ALVES

With the arrival of Adriano mainly as a cover for the careless Dani Alves it would be interesting to see how both of them are used in the first line up by the manager but for this position Alves should be the first choice because he is quick, loves to attack and has a special ability to put pin point crosses into the box. Also he has a good chemistry with Lionel Messi on the right flank.

Centre Back : GERARD PIQUE

Gerard Pique is one of the young centre backs who has earned his place in the starting line up due to his calm and composed performances during the previous two seasons. Some might think that he is prone to accidents and Gabriel Milito should be ahead of him because he has been in decent form after his return from a serious injury. For me Pique is a big match player and he can only improve from here on so his place is rightly reserved.

                                            

Centre Back : CARLOS PUYOL

The skipper, the catalan hero and a inspiration to anyone who wants to be a defender. Capable of playing anywhere in the defensive line should be deployed in the centre much to his brilliance in this position over the past few years and also the abundance of full backs in the squad. There is no question to be raised on his spot.

Left Back : ANDRADE MAXWELL

Might come as a shock to many if chosen ahead of the frenchman Eric Abidal and the new signing Adriano but I am not one of them. He had an amazing first season for the club and has proved that he is good enough to replace Abidal in the starting line-up. Also the frenchman has had a injury plagued season and a horrible world cup and the age of 30. Moreover has somehow lost his amazing crossing ability he possessed and whan he played in the few later matches he looked like a man who left his legs home. Maxwell loves to get forward and has improved his crossing a lot. Would be interesting to see how Guardiola uses him this season.

Centre Defensive Midfield : SERGIO BUSQUETS 

I was not the biggest fan of the catalan and initially failed to understand why was he used so much when the manager had the naturally gifted Yaya Toure at his disposal but I will have to say that Guardiola got it absolutely correct. He has a very special ability to be in the right place at the right time and to win the ball back in a neat manner. At a very young age he has a very special ability to man mark important players out of the game, be it Kaka against Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the Season, Fabregas against Arsenal in the first leg of the tie, Mesut Oezil in the semi-final of the world cup or Wesley Sneijder in the finals. Seydou Keita is expected to provide cover for the young player incase of injury or suspension.

Centre Midfield : XAVI HERNANDES

The midfield maestro is one of the most creative players on the face of this planet and probably the engine of the best national and club teams on earth. There is no one who can dictate the pace of the game  as well as create assists by providing one pass after the other, each of that looks better than the previous one and is almost impossible to intercept for the opposition defenders. 

Centre Midfield : ANDRES INIESTA

The hero of Spain, the match savior has time to time come to rescue of the team be it against Chelsea in the semi-final of 2009 Champions League or the World Cup final against Netherlands. His passing with Xavi and Messi is almost telepathic and can unlock any defense on the field. One can only hope that he has a injury free season as he is hard to find a replacement for.

Right Forward : LIONEL MESSI

The heart of FC Barcelona, the love of Camp Nou or the Star of La Masia. The current player of the year is gearing up to make up for the bad World Cup ( bad because he did not win it, though i think he played amazing football) and is ready to shine once more for his club. Barcelona do need his services and everyone saw the impact he can have on a game against Arsenal in the Champions League and more recently against the K-League which looked like a stroll in the park to him. Hopefully he will have an injury free season as he can only get better from here, still cannot believe he is just 23.

Left Forward : DAVID VILLA 

'El Gauje' has finally arrived and will be one of the most important attacking component of the club football team this year. Probably in the form of his life and also coming on the back of an amazing World Cup should definitely fit the style of play specially if he is deployed in the left where he has tormented defenders cutting in from the edge of the box followed by a clinical finish. With Messi playing the same role on the other flank, the attack is mouth watering.

Central Striker : ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC

Ibrahimovic has finally put an end to all speculations of leaving the club and looks determined to improve on his first season performance which was substandard by his high standard. Nonetheless he is a very special player and can make scoring goals look very easy for instance the thunderbolt he drove into Iker Cassillas' goal at Camp Nou or the two clinical finishes at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal but just like Samuel Eto'o has been guilty of missing very easy chances and should do better this time.

This line up is more than capable of beating any side any where on any ground. It remains to be seen if the lady luck is on their side or not. Come what may it would be a great side to watch in action.

JOSE MOURINHO: A double edged knife

This seasons La Liga is going to be like never before, with the arrival of the self proclaimed special one things are only going to get intense. Most would think me being a Barcelona fan and writing about a Real Madrid Manager might send a signal of me being worried of FCB being dethroned or even worse but I for one would love for Mourinho to have a go at FCB this time and would love it all the more if he is proved wring. Without deviating from the topic we shall try to have a look at Jose Mourinho's history and his relation with FCB and his supporters. This is done because in my opinion his stay in Madrid will be based on his ability to defeat FCB and win silverware at the same time.

Jose Mourinho started as a very young assistant coach at F.C. Barcelona, even though he was officially a translator for the then manager Louis Van Gaal,and before him, also to Sir Bobby Robson. He would be the one who would supervise all the junior team training sessions. It is said that it was here he started building up as a tactical genius, he had an eye for the smallest of the details that could matter the most in crunch time.

Below we see him with Bobby Robson

Then after departing from Barcelona and firstly working with Benifica and then managing FC Porto to Champions League glory. This was the time when he came to the big stage and every one finally recognized him. He had already established his position as an outspoken Manager who was hardworking and believed in the theory of ends justifying the means. For him winning is everything, Once upon being asked why he was so arrogant by a reported, his reply was, " I am the European Champion ." followed by the smallest of grins and that said it all.....The Special one had arrived.

And no sooner was he the manager of Chelsea football Club which in my opinion has been his best managerial stint so far. Even though he did not win the Champions League, he managed to win the EPL twice in a row establishing his home ground as his team's fortress which till day remains intact, at least in the league system..

It was here when he fist came up against the Catalan giants in the champions league of 2005 in the group of 16 where the two legged tie was nothing more than a drama scene for everyone to watch with Mourinho accu
sing the then Barca manager Frank Rijkaard of influencing the referees to such an extent that the referee incharge of the game would receive death threats. Eventually they got through only to be ousted by Liverpool in the semi-final.

No sooner than the next Champions League top 16 would these teams meet again. In the thick of a tense air at Stamford bridge, the first leg was perhaps one of the most out of control games in the histroy of europe which saw the Chelsea defender Alessandro Del Horno being sent of for a needless tackle on the then youth prodigy and the current player of the year, Lionel Messi.

This led to a new experience in Mourinho's reign...his first defeat at Stamford Bridge. He went out saying that Messi was play acting and Barcelona being a cultural city, the boy has spent more time in theaters and not the training academies. Messi was injured and out for the rest of the season, eventually Barcelona went on to win the Champions League.

Eventually he was sacked form the post of manager not because of his performance as a manager but largely due to his arrogance and his ego clashes with the club owner Roman Abramovich.

Few months of vacations and he was back...this time with the Italian Champions. F.C. Internaziaonale. His arrogance saw him against a very stubborn Italian media where he was constantly criticized for killing the game, surprising to come from the media and fans of the league that produces arguably the most boring games. The criticism reached its peak when the starting lineup of the nerrazzuri ( non italians) did not even consist on a single italian player.

Then came the champions league group stages and the Italian Champions were in the same group. Those two game turned out to be way under par but they were soon going to lock horns again in the semi-final. This time Mourinho did everything right. He first defeated his beloved Chelsea and when asked about not winning the champions league with his formal club, he said that the players were never that hungry to win it in the first place, which personally I found very disgusting as it was a total lack of respect for the players and the fans of Chelsea who loved him as a manager.

Then came the first leg of the semi-final at San Siro, Barcelona lost 3-1 in spite of scoring first and Jose completely outplayed his counterpart Josep Guardiola. The second leg battle became more important than ever. He made it personal by saying that his dream was pure and Barcelona's dream was just an obsession to win the house of their rival Real Madrid. He decided to park an Aeroplane in front of the Barcelona goal, they did concede in the 84th minute with Gerard Pique's well taken goal and Bojan Krkic found the back of the net in injury time only for the goal to be wrongly disallowed as hand ball but the replays later showed that the hand ball by Yaya Toure was not an advantage in any way and the goal should have stood but that is sport, you win some and you lose some. This became his ticket to Real Madrid.

Inter went on to win the champions league defeating Bayern Munchen 2-0 in the final.
 

During the Summer of 2010 Mourinho finished his transfer to Real Madrid and now is his biggest test. He is up against the most impatient owner and the evermore demanding fans of Madrid who are already dreaming of a Wembley presence this year. Much will be dependent on how he copes up with Fiorentino Perez, the rich and arrogant owner of the club. Only time will tell if it turns out to be deja vu for Mourinho or Barcelona.

It is a fact that Mourinho has never lost at home in a league, it is also a fact that Barcelona are the only team to defeat him in his backyard be it in champions league. It is a fact that he has been successful in taming the little magician named Lionel Messi but its also a fact that he has never won at the Camp Nou. He is the most hated figure at the place where he started. Whatever one would say, Mourinho delivers the results, but till now he has never been faced with FC Barcelona in the league, as I said earlier much will depend on how he deals with the force of the catalan giants no matter what happens we are in for a treat of a lifetime. May the best team win!

 

Argentina's Ideal Starting Line-up

For those following the FIFA Football World Cup Closely, they would know that Argentina is through the group stages and due to the results in Group A, we are in for a mouthwatering clash against Mexico.

One could easily recall what happened in Germany four years back, at the very same stage of the world cup, these two sided produced the game of the world cup which was decided by arguably the goal of the world cup, an amazing volley by none other than Maxi Rodriguez.

Before the tournament, Argentina coach Diego Maradona took a lot of stick for leaving out the ageless Javier Zanetti and Estaban Cambiasso, both important members of FC Internazionale that defeated FC Barcelona and won the UEFA Champions League this year. I would agree with Maradona’s decision to leave them out because they had their share of chances in the qualification regime and we all saw atleast Zanetti did not have the legs. Cambiasso’s exclusion although is a hard pill to swallow as the Skipper Javier Mascherano has a habit of making reckless tackles and is already on a yellow card. I have my own doubts if Mario Bollati can replace him if needed.

As for the attack, they have probably the best one in the world cup, even though I was shocked to see Pablo Aimar left out of the side after his consistent display for Benefica and also in the qualifiers.

Here is my opinion on the starting line-up of Argentina against Mexico:

Goalkeeper - Sergio Romero: Well this was not really a doubt, he has not been tested much in this world cup but was a steady performer in the qualifiers.

 Left Back - Clemente Rodriguez: He is the second choice defender for Maradona, I just fail to understand why, Gabriel Heinze is old, slow and is always out of position. The South Koreans nearly made him pay for that.

Centre Back - Walter Samuel : He is one of the strongest defenders around, has been in amazing form for FC Internazionale and is the heart of Argentine Defence.

Centre Back - Nicolas Burdisso : I would go for this guy in the centre of defence any day over Martin Demichelis, because for the Bayern Munchen defender is unsteady at the back, in simpler words, a time bomb waiting to go off.

Right Back - Nicolas Otamendi : The young defender was amazing against Greece and provides as much attacking options as Jonas Gutirrez, more importantly better defensive options. Gutirrez was tormented at the position and with the knockout stages, it is just going to get worse for him.

Centre Defensive Midfield - Javier Mascherano : The skipper has played a pivotal role in Argentine team. He plays an important role in setting up attacks from the midfield and also keep a check on the weak defense by controlling the game.

 Right Centre Midfield - Juan Sebastian Veron : the little witch has been struggling with injury but will be expected to start against Mexico. The Captain without the arm band plays an important role by linking up with Mascherano to dictate the pace of the game.

Left Centre Midfield - Jonas Gutirrez : This might come as a surprise but i would go for him over Angel Di Maria because of his experience. THat is his natural position and he looks much better there.

Centre Forward - Lionel Messi : Before this tournament even began, everyone was questioning this little genius’ ability to deliver in the blue and white jersey. But the displays in the past three games have shut all the critics up. Its an honor to watch the best player on this planet play for this team.

 Right Striker - Carlos Tevez : No really doubts about this man, whenever he comes on to the field, he is like a dog and the ball is a bone that belongs to him for the next 90 minutes. Brings a bit of steel to the silky Argentine attack.

Left Striker - Diego Milito : This might again come as a surprise to many but I prefer him over Gonzalo Higuain because of his ability to deliver in big matches and his positioning.

FORMATION : I am going for a 4-1-2-1-2 formation as I believe it will bring the best out of them.

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ROMERO

                                             BURDISSO                                   SAMUEL

                   OTAMENDI                                                                                     C.RODRIGUEZ

J.MASCHERANO

                                              VERON                                                GUTIRREZ

MESSI

                                                              TEVEZ                  MILITO

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This by no means is a special team, but they have one special player and a very special coach, what left to be seen is if it makes a difference to what happened in Germany 4 years back.