In Depth Analysis(by Unknown) Click Here

A Lot To Think About

The International Break ( Really do not understand why it is called a break when all the players end up playing 2 International Matches in it! ) is about to be over and Barca faces a run into 5 Matches in the League and 2 in the Champions League. There has already been a lot of talk about our squad being a little thin in certain areas like the Mid. So playing so many matches in such a short span will definitely ask a lot of questions from Pep’s team. Are they up for it? Here is an In-Depth Analysis of the Squad to focus more light on this issue.

Goalkeepers

Starting from the goalkeepers, Victor Valdes has done a commendable job in the past couple of years. He has never received the kind of critical appreciation that he deserves or a place in the Spanish squad. But despite all of this, he has continued to display the highest level of Motivation and concentration, something that is essential for a top notch goalkeeper. We can all flash back to Stamford Bridge where he saved so many of Drogba’s efforts on goal at critical moments. Anyone of those scored chances was enough to put us out of the Dream Final and lay to rest our claim to the Golden Treble. But as usual his heroics got eclipsed in comparison to those of Iniesta’s and all people chose to remember were the couple of forgivable errors he made during the season, which by the way, any goalkeeper ends up making in his long career. Pinto has been part of the Copa Del Rey team the whole of last season and came up with some very inspiring performances. His penalty save in the Semi Final took kept us in the Tournament. So He can be definitely be counted upon in case of an injury to Valdes.

Defense

The Defense definitely looked beefed up with addition of Dmytro Chygrynskiy. Maxwell was signed from Inter to keep Eric Abidal on his toes. Milito is still away from playing again. The performances of Dani Alves and Gerad Pique have as usual been top notch. Puyol too has been at his vintage best. Marquez was injured in the warm-up ahead of the friendly with Seattle Sounders during the Blaugrana’s tour of the US and has not featured since. He is expected to start again in the coming weeks and will be a big boost to the squad. The defense should sustain itself in case of a few injuries as there seems to replacements for every spot. Yaya Toure too did a great job last year in the few games when he was called upon to play in the unfamiliar role of a Centre back.

Mid Field

The Mid-Field Motor that ran the team whole of last season ( And how well they did so ) still seems in good shape with the addition of Iniesta. He sustained an injury in the Champions League Final and was out of the Spanish Squad for the Confederations Cup too. But he is back to full fitness now and will be called upon to pull the strings in the Mid-Field. Keita has grown a lot over the summer which has been reflected in his performance in the first week against Sporting. Xavi looks as inspired as ever and that is always an inspiration for all the players in the squad. Jonathan and Fontas Prat are the youngsters fromCantera have been called upon to add more depth to the dazzling Mid Field combination there. Sergi Busquest has matured enough to be called upon in big games as he proved by playing a solid role in the biggest game of last season – The Champions League Final against Manchester United.

Forwards

The most notable change in the team has happened right in front with Zlatan coming in for the outgoing Samuel Eto’o. He is still finding his feet in a new team. But his performances are improving with every passing game and he will derive a lot of courage from his first goal in La Liga. He will definitely have the extra motivation against Inter in the Champions League. How much will he love to score against Mourinho’s team and prove it once and for all that he indeed has joined the better team in Europe. The other forwards in Messi and Henry seem to have continued from where they left of last season. Pedro’s meteoric rise will add the extra miles on the pitch in case fatigue catches up with the like of Henry. And let’s not forget Bojan, who with every single game, is showing phenomenal maturity for a 19 year old. It will not be long before he will start deserving a place in the starting eleven and scoring goals on an every match basis. Jeffern Suarez is another youngster from the Cantera finishing up the squad, who will be looking for valuable minutes to add to his experience.

• Getafe, Inter Milan ( CL ), Athletico Madrid, Racing Santander, Malaga, Dynamo Kiev ( CL ), Almeria ( In That Order ). Bring It On!