Spanish La Liga Thread (BBVA)

[luke07]

fanboys..........

 

[Sage]

bilbao choking, zaragoza winning 2-0.

Iturraspe

 

[luke07]

yay malaga scores...

 

[Sonny.Bill.Williams]

bilbao choking, zaragoza winning 2-0.

Iturraspe

Same old same old ...no starters no party ...No OSCA in CL

 

[Fiero]

Bibnho & head ?
Sage is just trolling & being stubborn.
BenZ is more than a poacher & he is as deadly as the best poacher out there.
I mean who is nowadays best finisher ?
Gomez ? Higuain ? Hunt ? BenZ for sure didnt miss as much as those.

What?! I like Benzema a lot, but finishing is his weakest area. He's a great dribbler, very good with link-up, has good technique, high work rate, and a fantastic passer. But he wastes lost of chances. He still scores a lot but finishing is definitely not his strong point.

He is still world class though and his style fits Madrid perfectly because they have Ronaldo who is very direct and lethal. They complement each other really well.

 

[Fiero]

Fantastic by Betis!!!!!

Edit - LOL premature. Atletico ruined it.

 

[besnikzki]

Sanchez is a top player. Sucks that he left Serie A and joined Barca.

 

[Madridista]

I dont get why Mou is blamed for not playing Kaka.
Ozil & DiM offer a lot more than the current Kaka.

Ozil and Di Maria combined don't have the footballing intelligence, understanding of the game and decision making ability as Kaka. He offers something that Madrid don't have; a direction in their game and team play.

He may have lost the majority of his speed, but with him on the pitch, the flow of Madrid's offense is much better than with Di Maria going on solo runs that end up with 99% lost balls, or Ozil constantly getting stuck with the ball, double teamed on wings and usually going nowhere with the ball except dead ends.

What?! I like Benzema a lot, but finishing is his weakest area. He's a great dribbler, very good with link-up, has good technique, high work rate, and a fantastic passer. But he wastes lost of chances. He still scores a lot but finishing is definitely not his strong point.

Benzema is not a poacher but a #9 of the Ronaldo/Henry mold, roaming + creative. This type of strikers is always going to have worse conversion rate, because they have a tendency to attempt to score nice looking goals with placed shots, medium range attempts, dribble+shot etc. instead of scoring rebounds, tap ins and headers. Their shots are taken with the ball in front of them after getting through balls, facing the goal, with or without defender between. In contrast, at poachers' goal, ball usually is coming from the side where the angle is much easier needing to simply put a touch to divert it.

Its deceiving how good the technical #9 s actual finishing ability is, because the difficulty of their attempts is usually higher. A player like Benzema is a rare breed with all the poachers these days, but logic implies that since he is much more skillful overall, his finishing is also better.

 

[milanpalermo23]

Benzema is not a poacher but a #9 of the Ronaldo/Henry mold, roaming + creative. This type of strikers is always going to have worse conversion rate, because they have a tendency to attempt to score nice looking goals with placed shots, medium range attempts, dribble+shot etc. instead of scoring rebounds, tap ins and headers. Their shots are taken with the ball in front of them after getting through balls, facing the goal, with or without defender between. In contrast, at poachers' goal, ball usually is coming from the side where the angle is much easier needing to simply put a touch to divert it.

Its deceiving how good the technical #9 s actual finishing ability is, because the difficulty of their attempts is usually higher. A player like Benzema is a rare breed with all the poachers these days, but logic implies that since he is much more skillful overall, his finishing is also better.

Yesssssss. Exactly. Not only do people not understand that Benzema is not a poacher, but that he actually helps in the build up play as well.

I think Benzema is the type of player who would be perfect in Milan's system up top with Ibra. A full-out STRIKER who does precisely what you describe.

Idk who is really similar to Benzema now in days, Dzeko is too much of a poacher, Tevez is less of a target man, maybe Balotelli or Cavani?

 

[Sage]

who the hell thought benzema was a poacher?

 

[luke07]

people who thinks they know shit bout benzema

 

[MilanMB]

Ozil and Di Maria combined don't have the footballing intelligence, understanding of the game and decision making ability as Kaka. He offers something that Madrid don't have; a direction in their game and team play.

He may have lost the majority of his speed, but with him on the pitch, the flow of Madrid's offense is much better than with Di Maria going on solo runs that end up with 99% lost balls, or Ozil constantly getting stuck with the ball, double teamed on wings and usually going nowhere with the ball except dead ends.

why doesn't he get more playing time then?

 

[HamzaHas]

Ozil and Di Maria combined don't have the footballing intelligence, understanding of the game and decision making ability as Kaka. He offers something that Madrid don't have; a direction in their game and team play.

He may have lost the majority of his speed, but with him on the pitch, the flow of Madrid's offense is much better than with Di Maria going on solo runs that end up with 99% lost balls, or Ozil constantly getting stuck with the ball, double teamed on wings and usually going nowhere with the ball except dead ends.

I disagree, in terms of footballing intelligence, I think Ozil is at least on the same level as Kaka, technically however I think Kaka is superior, but I don't think they can both play together. Di Maria IMO is rubbish.

 

[Madridista]

who the hell thought benzema was a poacher?

People seem to be comparing his finishing to the finishing of poachers, which is apples and oranges really.

why doesn't he get more playing time then?

its Mourinho's fault

I disagree, in terms of footballing intelligence, I think Ozil is at least on the same level as Kaka, technically however I think Kaka is superior, but I don't think they can both play together. Di Maria IMO is rubbish.

Kaka is a much more natural and flowing player than Ozil. Ozil's decision making, teamwork/combo passing ability, vision, all leave a lot to be desired. He makes amateur mistakes, he doesn't see things Kaka does, he gets himself outnumbered and stuck in dead ends on the wings because he doesn't know to play the ball quickly, he doesnt contribute to the buildup from deep nearly as much, he is poor in the centre, his shooting is weaker, he is too one footed, his control lets him down often... When Kaka is on the pitch, Madrid look more like a team.

As for Di Maria, hes a different kind of player so again its apples and oranges, hes a danger in a different way. he was stunning before he got injured but after that he's pretty meh, and he doesn't warrant a spot ahead of Kaka.

 

[milanpalermo23]

Madridista, is there an english speaking Real Madrid forum? I would really like to check it out.

 

[Madridista]

there isn't a specific Madrid forum like this one; but the subforums at bigsoccer and tiki taka are pretty good.

 

[joyrider]

Those at Real Madrid celebrating Pep Guardiola's departure should be careful what they wish for.

Rather than a shift in power between the eternal rivals, Guardiola's exit can actually inspire a new, stronger era for Barcelona.

His departure announcement last week all seemed so smooth - a little too smooth.

And the media across Europe lapped it up. But why not? We can all sing when we're winning, but the manner of which he, Barca's players and fans took their Champions League elimination at the hands of Chelsea spoke volumes of the influence Guardiola has had over the club for the past four years.

This time there was no strops. Nor sprinklers. The Nou Camp crowd applauded warmly, beaten Barca players congratulated their opponents and Guardiola made sure of shaking the hands of all the Chelsea coaching staff before he descended down the players' race.

He and Barca won a lot of new friends that night.

And those in the media have been queuing up since Friday's announcement to espouse the 'Guardiola philosophy'.

But let's get serious.

What of the row with Gerard Pique? The disagreements with Andoni Zubizarreta on transfer policy? The question marks hanging over Daniel Alves' future - and the constant benching of Cesc Fabregas?

And what about poor, old Luis Enrique? It could be argued, by indulging Guardiola and his year-to-year agreements, Barca president Sandro Rosell sold both Enrique and the club short. The most natural successor for Guardiola would have been the former Barca B boss. But now he's stuck at a stubborn AS Roma, while Tito Vilanova, with no No1 experience, is the man now handed the Nou Camp reigns.

But the chuckles from the Bernabeu and doubts over a Vilanova-led Barca can be offset by both Rosell and sports director Zubizarreta now having greater control of transfer policy.

It's been staring them in the face for 18 months, but Guardiola refused to add a new centre-half to his squad, instead deploying Javier Mascherano as a make-shift centre-back - even at times leaving Pique on the bench or in the stands.

There's claims he refused to shake up his defence out of loyalty to those who backed him when he first entered the senior locker room, dumping Ronaldinho and Deco in the process. But it can be argued he simply lost his bottle in the transfer market.

Martin Caceres and Dmytro Chygrynskiy were signed for huge money, but barely managed a handful of games between them. Henrique also cost a small fortune, but in four years never made an appearance, while Guardiola couldn't convince Gaby Milito to stick around last season.

And how Didier Drogba made him pay last week.

Others close to the club tell me they've suffered because of Guardiola's loyalty to a senior clique, which has exasperated both Rosell and Zubizarreta.

A return to La Masia for Valencia's exciting young fullback Jordi Alba appeared a done deal earlier this year. But that soon faded with claims Guardiola was happy to carry on with Daniel Alves.

Albert Valentín, Barca's chief scout, was a regular at Tottenham games in January and February to run the rule over Gareth Bale.

Zubizarreta regards the Welshman as the best young left-sided midfielder in Europe. But again, the intensity of their interest has since waned and it emerged last week Zubi and Guardiola were at odds over Bale's suitability to their system.

Even delays over a deal for Santos star Neymar are being blamed on Guardiola. It's claimed he was dead against the Brazilian's signing as it - again - would upset the balance of a team built around Lionel Messi.

But now with Guardiola gone and an eager-to-impress Vilanova taking over, Zubi can begin in earnest a regeneration of the current squad - with a centre-half, new fullbacks and a centre-forward all high on the summer agenda.

Those pulling the strings in the boardroom will welcome the praise being heaped on Guardiola around the world. It keeps the club's failures away from the scrutiny and glare.

Guardiola is leaving them with supposedly 'the greatest team in history'. But Barca's powerbrokers know, when they look towards Madrid, they can't seriously call themselves 'the greatest' when they'll finish the season with nothing in the trophy room.

 

[Az.]

^^ Stopped reading after the first few lines.It looks like a barca kiss article ,and i have no desire to puke in my mouth after reading it.

 

[joyrider]

^^ Stopped reading after the first few lines.It looks like a barca kiss article ,and i have no desire to puke in my mouth after reading it.

then don't read it, i'm no barca fan, it's just an interesting article to have a preview on a post-guardiola Liga, if in any case it would change much

 

[WILL2K]

Congrats to Madrid for the title.

 

[JohnnyWunderboy]

Weaaaaak celebration...
Not as glamorous as ours last year

 

[benjamin]

Guardiola: It's a bit late in the season to start giving us penalties

Pep Guardiola has hinted that Barcelona deserved more spot kicks over the course of the 2011-12 season as he hit out at the standard of refereeing in Spain's top flight in the wake of the Catalans' 4-1 Liga victory over Malaga at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
The Blaugrana were awarded two penalties against the Boquerones, but Guardiola feels it is too late to make up for previous mistakes.

"Two penalties? Now it's not really needed anymore. It's a bit late in the season to start giving us penalties," Guardiola stated to reporters.

"Did the referees decide the league? The season has been very long, and a lot of things have happened. We've kept quiet, but the images are there.

"They can't say we didn't try to win the league because we tried to come back. We can now only, once again, congratulate Madrid for their success."

Barcelona sit second in the Primera Division table, trailing champions Real Madrid by seven points with two more games to go.

what is he smoking?

 

[Costanza]

Pep blaming refs

Man you're about to leave, so don't ruin your integrity.

 

[VeneMilan]

Piss off Pip!

 

[luke07]

congrats el real

 

[Xudong]

Guardiola: It's a bit late in the season to start giving us penalties



what is he smoking?

Nah, he got confused between these two penalties and the two they got against us.

 

[Xudong]

I really don't like Real Merdarid, but at least Barthalona didn't win.

 

[MilanShion]

Grats to Madrid. Lol Kaka gets liga title and copa del rey, and didn't contribute much to either.

 

[Fiero]

The league is back where it belongs. Congratulations to Real and Mourinho.

 

[WILL2K]

The league is back where it belongs. Congratulations to Real and Mourinho.

Who was CR7 arguing with ?