Barça Forwards Continue to Dominate

Saturday night at the Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona machine was firing on all cylinders once again, as the Blaugrana struck early and often against an woefully overmatched Deportivo La Coruña side, cruising to a 5-0 victory in a game that was every bit as lopsided as the score would suggest. Barcelona not only held the ball for nearly two-thirds of the match, they used that possession to create every scoring opportunity in the match, outshooting Deportivo 21-1, with ten of those shots on target.

Once again the Barcelona’s front line of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry abused Deportivo keeper Daniel Aranzubía, as the trio combined to score all five goals. It took just 20 minutes for Barça to strike, when Xavi picked out Messi on the right side with a typical pinpoint pass, which was taken by the brilliant Argentine, whose run into the middle of the pitch to left four defenders in his wake, and in a scene that has become almost commonplace (though hardly boring), Messi beat Aranzubía to his left side, squeezing the ball just past the post for the game’s opening goal.

The rest of the first half was defined by scoring chances created by the world’s top right back, Dani Alves, whose recent work down the right side has been nothing short of sublime. Just moments after Messi’s opening goal, Alves received the ball on the right wing and launched a beautiful cross into the box, where Thierry Henry was waiting. The Frenchman elevated just as the ball arrived, connecting on a strong header that found the back of the Deportivo net- 2-0 Barcelona. Then, just before halftime, in a near-replay of Barça’s second goal, Alves again produced a gorgeous cross from the right wing, this time finding the head of Seydou Keita, who was unlucky not to score, as his the header was saved. However, Aranzubía was unable to hang on to the ball, which trickled into the six-yard box, where Samuel Eto’o was waiting to pound his seventeenth league goal into the open net, effectively eradicating even the faintest glimmer of hope Deportivo might have had.

Despite producing just six shots in the second half (they had 15 in the first), Barcelona were no less the superior side. Attempts by Messi and Andrés Iniesta were the lone threat to the Deportivo goal for much of the second half, though it seemed inevitable that Barcelona would find the inside of the Deportivo net yet again. They’d have to wait until the game’s final ten minutes, but the Blaugrana did add to their tally, first in the 82^nd minute when Xavi, near the touchline in the Deportivo box, just to the left of the goal, played the ball back into the box, where it was collected by Henry, who slotted it past Daniel Aranzubía to make the score 4-0. Four minutes later, the door already slammed shut on Deportivo, Carlos Puyol joined the attack, making a powerful run into the box, where he was upended by Aranzubía, resulting in a penalty kick for Barcelona and the sending off of the Deportivo keeper for the inappropriate challenge in the box. Eto’o stepped up and coolly put an exclamation mark on Barcelona’s second 5-0 victory of the season.

The home matchup with Deportivo marked the halfway point of La Liga’s 2008-09 season, and Barça’s dominance was fitting, as this side has put together as transcendent a half-season performance as any in recent memory. The statistics are almost comical- Barcelona has played nineteen league games, are unbeaten in their last eighteen, twelve points clear of second place Real Madrid, having scored a staggering 59 goals while allowing just thirteen for a superhuman +46 goal differential. Barcelona has averaged a margin of victory of nearly two-and-a-half goals per game, a number which jumps to three goals per game at home, and already boast three players with at least eleven league goals- Samuel Eto’o with a league-high 18, Lionel Messi with 12 and Thierry Henry with 11, their 41 combined goals surpassing the totals of all but two teams in La Liga.

Barcelona’s comprehensive victory against Deportivo La Coruña emphatically reinforces an opinion that’s been spreading through the football world- this Barcelona side is one for the ages. They are enjoying a completely unbeatable run of form the likes of which other teams can only dream of.

On the heels of a terribly disappointing season, in his first half-season as manager of the club for which he starred as a player, Pep Guardiola has shown himself equal to the task with which he was presented, looking poised to ascend to similar heights as a manager that he did a s a player. The second half of this season will be hard-pressed to equal the first in terms of dominance, but it’s safe to say that Guardiola’s men are the most gifted and the most entertaining team in the world, and the second half will provide the opportunity to watch this sublimely gifted team take on all challengers as they look to accumulate the silverware that will immortalize what is shaping up to be a truly historic season.

A Defining Moment in Pamplona

On Sunday, FC Barcelona traveled to Pamplona, looking to extend its unbeaten run in La Liga to 17 games against bottom-of-the-table Osasuna. Despite facing a very spirited Osasuna side supported by an outstanding crowd of nearly 20,000 fans, not to mention a blinding fog that thickened as the game went on, Barça was not expected to encounter much trouble en route to three points. What they did find was a classic brawl and a home side that had not come to simply serve as punching bags for Barça. In the game’s dying minutes, La Blaugrana trailing last-place Osasuna, and were face-to-face with an upset defeat for the ages.

What a difference a year makes! Had this game taken place 2007-08 season, trailing an inferior opponent in a hostile environment, it would not have been at all surprising to see the Barcelona players lose their focus and ultimately fall behind 3-1, or even 4-1. However, this is not last season! What Barcelona took from their visit to Osasuna is worth more than just three points- on a day when they were not at the brilliant best, this Barcelona side exhibited the character and the heart of a champion. It’s these victories, in seemingly meaningless games where defeat could be accepted and justified, that define great teams. If, as they seem poised to do, this Barcelona side goes to become a team for the ages, this will have been the game in which they elevated themselves from merely a dominant club, to greatness.

In the game’s opening minutes, it looked as though the Barcelona juggernaut would continue to steamroll through Spain. In the tenth minute, Lionel Messi produced a characteristically brilliant run and looked like a lock to score, but his shot, which beat Osasuna’s keeper, Roberto, glanced off the posted and was cleared before Messi could pounce on the rebound. However, despite dominating possession for the next 35 minutes, Barça were not playing up to their usual high standards, were only able to generate three shots on goal, coming from a pair of threatening moves from Thierry Henry and a straightaway attempt from Xavi. As the first half wound down, with Osasuna looking as though they’d be taking a scoreless draw into the dressing room, La Blaugrana were able to conjure up a moment of brilliance to opening the scoring in stoppage time, as Messi found Samuel Eto’o near the top of the box, and Eto’o produced a beautiful strike that beat Roberto in the lower left corner, just second before the halftime whistle.

Despite holding the slim 1-0 lead, Barcelona’s somewhat uninspired play continued in the second half. Given the difficult conditions, combined with Barcelona’s ability to dominate when holding a lead, the match had the look of an unspectacular, businesslike away win against outclassed competition. This continued until the 63^rd minute, when Osasuna, who had quietly built a bit of momentum, won a corner, which shockingly found its way into Victor Valdes’ goal, after being headed high in the air toward the vacant far post by Miguel Flaño, which should have been manned by Gerard Pique. Following the equalizer, with the home fans working themselves into a frenzy, Osasuna became the aggressive side, their confidence and belief growing by leaps and bounds.

It was against this backdrop that the intensity of the game was ratcheted up several notches in the 70^th minute- with Sergi Busquets on the ground following a hard challenge, Lionel Messi held up play in anticipation of a whistle from the referee that never came. As Messi stopped, Osasuna’s Josetxo, in a resourceful but very shifty move, crept up from behind and stripped Messi of the ball sparking an attack at the other end. Once Barcelona had managed to neutralize this attack, chaos erupted at midfield, as Barcelona’s players were livid at Osasuna’s show of poor sportsmanship, while the home side defiantly defended its actions. The volatile situation was ultimately diffused, though not before three players (Victor Valdes for Barça; Josetxo and Walter Pandiani for Osasuna) were booked. Following the incident, the home side managed to find even greater confidence, carried by their now fanatical crowd, all of which culminated in one of the season’s most jawdropping, David v. Goliath moments, as Walter Pandiani found the back of Valdes’ net, giving Osasuna a 2-1 lead.

It was then, faced with their greatest adversity of the season, defeat seemingly inevitable, that Barcelona players put their stamp on this squad. With Andres Iniesta, having entered in the 65^th minute, and Bojan Krkic replacing the ineffectual Seydou Keita in the 77^th, Barcelona again began to dominate possession, particularly on right wing, where the combination of Messi and the out-of-this-world Dani Alves, was obviously too much for Osasuna to deal with. Having played a solid but unspectacular game to that point, Alves dominated the game’s last ten minutes, seizing the moment and creating opportunities leading to each of Barça’s final two goals. In the 80^th minute, Alves made a beautiful run down the right wing, and as he approached the touch line, he sent a picture-perfect cross across the Osasuna box, where Xavi was waiting to unleash the equalizer. Just a few minutes later, again on the right side, Alves won the ball from a defender and found Messi on the wing. In moment that only he can create, Messi moved down the right wing at full speed, before sliding toward the left, and with three defenders all within three yards of him, the best footballer on Planet Earth today fired a laser from the top the box, which curved around the keeper and slammed the door on Osasuna’s upset hopes, giving Barça a dramatic 3-2 victory.

Perhaps Barcelona should never have been trailing in Pamplona, but the reaction of Pep Guardiola’s men in the face of such adversity could prove to be the signature moment of the season- not to mention 2009’s greatest finish, just eleven days into the year.

Barça Remains Active in Transfer Market, Strengthens Midfield

A day after adding all-world striker Thierry Henry to the squad, FC Barcelona has added some much needed strength to the midfield by signing Monaco’s Yaya Toure, younger brother of Arsenal's Kolo Toure. Yaya, a member of the Ivory Coast team that participated in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, signed a four-year contract with the Catalan club worth €8.7 million ($12 million), with a possible future payment of €3.9 million ($5.4 million), contingent on results.

Txiki Begiristain, sports director at FC Barcelona, said of Toure, “He is a strong player with a great physical presence and an ability to distribute the ball well. He’s a ball winner and is good in the air.” Begiristain went on to add that he is “similar in style to [Inter Milan midfielder and World Cup champion with France] Patrick Vieira”, a player that Toure has great admiration for and views as a role model.

The addition of Toure is a significant step toward improving the versatility and all-around quality of the Barcelona midfield. For Barça, bolstering its talented but, at times, soft midfield was an even more pressing need that adding another prolific goal scorer. While the addition of Henry will likely grab the lion’s share of headlines, the contribution of Yaya Toure could prove to be equally significant in Barcelona’s return to the Spanish throne.

It should be noted Barcelona does not appear to be finished in the transfer market. It has been reported that the club is also looking for defensive help, is pursuing Romanian defender Christian Chivu, currently in Italy’s Serie A with AS Roma. The fee for his transfer will likely exceed €14.5 million ($20 million)

Henry to Barca; More Fallout to Come?

Over the weekend, Barcelona and Arsenal agreed to the transfer of superstar striker Thierry Henry. With this deal, Barça has not only added a world-class striker to an attacking corps that already boasts the likes of Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o, but it has done so at a significant discount. Thanks to an injury-plagued 2007 season, the ₤16 million ($32 million) fee that it took to bring Henry to the Nou Camp is slightly more than half the ₤30 million ($60 million) that it likely would have taken to acquire the Frenchman just a year ago.

Members of the Barcelona squad have acknowledged that the team was not in top form this season and have vowed to approach next season with greater dedication and resolve. While this alone might have been enough to signal improvement for next season, the addition of Henry could provide an added spark that will return the Catalan club to the top of world football. Following a disappointing season that saw them fail to advance deep into the Champion League and stumble down the stretch and lose the La Liga crown on the season’s last day to Real Madrid, management at FC Barcelona has taken the initiative and sent this message to its supremely-gifted-but-sometimes-complacent team: We will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to field a championship team. Now, you do your part!

Thierry Henry’s much-speculated move of to Barcelona may just be the latest in a chain of events whose impact will be felt around the world of football. First, the sudden departure of former-Arsenal Vice Chairman David Dein, whom Henry respected and admired a great deal, calling Dein “Mr. Arsenal”, was a severe blow to Henry’s relationship with the club. Additionally, Arsene Wenger, Henry’s countryman and the only manager he’s known at Arsenal, as well as the coach that gave him his first big chance at the age of 15 at French club Monaco, does not have a contract beyond the upcoming season. Henry had been clear that in order to maintain his services, Arsenal would have to extend Wenger’s contract, which never happened. Most recently, Franck Ribery, Henry’s friend and teammate on the French national team, was transferred to Bayern Munich for ₤17.5 million ($35 million), despite both Henry and Wenger’s obvious interest in having Ribery join them at Arsenal.

For supporters of the club, the truly frightening thought is that, for all the collective damage that has already been done to the team, the worst may still lie ahead. Conceivably, Arsenal may have a mass exodus on its hands. In this scenario, here is a possible global domino effect:

• With Thierry Henry’s arrival, there will be an embarrassment of riches on the Barcelona frontline. This will likely lead to sale of one of Barça’s talented attackers. With Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Anderson Deco firmly entrenched in the lineup, and the club reportedly in pursuit of Rodrigo Palacio of Boca Juniors, either Samuel Eto’o or Eidur Gudjohnsen could be pushed out. Given his, relatively speaking, moderate salary, Gudjohnsen, who is a fine striker coming off of a disappointing season, is an ideal backup attacker for Barcelona. This leaves the young and very gifted Eto’o, who is prone to disagreements with teammates and club management, is the object of AC Milan’s desires, and has also expressed his admiration for Liverpool and the English Premier League. His sale would net upwards of ₤20 million ($40 million) on the open market, more than double what the sale of Gudjohnsen would fetch.

• In the wake of the departures of both Dein as well as Henry, it now appears less likely that Arsene Wenger will keep his post at Arsenal beyond the upcoming season, perhaps even following Henry to Barcelona, where manager Frank Rijkaard, despite repeated statements expressing his commitment to Barcelona, is the subject of persistent rumors suggesting that he may be the future manager of AC Milan.

• Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal’s 20 year-old Spanish midfield playmaker supreme, who left Barça’s youth system to join Arsenal, has openly stated that he would one day relish the opportunity to return to Barcelona, saying in a recent interview “I hope there is a chance to return (to Barça). People who know me already know this… There is always hope.” Following Herny’s move, Fabregas could be even more inclined to return to the Catalan club. In the same interview, Fabregas expressed his desire to continue playing with Thierry Henry saying, “If it was up to me, Henry and I would play together for the rest of our lives.” Despite being under contract with Arsenal through 2014 and public overtures from Spanish giants Real Madrid, the departures of his manager and most-talented teammate could hasten Cesc Fabregas’ return to Spain.

• Another Frenchman and friend of Thierry Henry, Arsenal defender William Gallas, who has also stated his desire for the club to be more competitive, is unlikely to be encouraged by this latest development. This could lead to Gallas request a transfer away from Arsenal, likely to one of the large clubs in either Spain (Barça or Real Madrid) or Italy (Juventus, AC Milan or Inter-Milan).