Players that have played well vs Barca XI

I was trying to find this thread when I remembered that it was part of the old forums.

Anyways, I seem to remember a lot of people struggling to find a LB and I think I found him: Ansaldi.
His recent linking with Juve made me remember his performance.

Walcott, Wilshere, Valdes (Hercules), Kanoute, Zanetti and Pepe spring to mind

I think the thread was a bit more selective than that, perhaps instead of 'played well' it was 'excelled'.

I see, so they were pretty much direct counters and exploited Barca?

I guess sczesny (or however u spell that) could be the GK. Not the thumb broken version though, but before that incident he was doing ok.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2011/06/22/2536357/how-do-you-beat-one-of-the-best-teams-in-history-goalcoms

even though almunia aint that good, I think that he deserves a shout. He was a like a brick wall when we played arsenal at the emirates 2 seasons ago

Edit: Btw who is that girl messi?

Lionel Messi wrote:http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2011/06/22/2536357/how-do-you-beat-one-of-the-best-teams-in-history-goalcoms

*lol where is Samuel, Banega and Aguero ???
and btw why is Barca not interested in Aguero,when you see him playing with Messi, you wonder how good barca will become with both of them on the Team ..

Bati, some good questions.

Goal.com has gone for Wilshire while most of us here felt Banega was more deserving. The worst mistake in Goal.com's article is to not even mention Banega. As for W.Samuel, yes he is more than worthy of consideration but I suppose they are looking at a team that can be formed right now. W.Samuel is too plagued with injuries while T.Silva is in peak form. Aguero is a really difficult one. I do think they need a quality finisher with big match mentality and for that reason Eto'o's inclusion is understandable. I would take Robben over C.Ronaldo because he is a better dribbler but Goal.com have looked at his injury record. As for the third player, that is most open to debate. I had gone for Hulk but Aguero, L.Suarez and several others are worth considering.

Now for your second question. It seems that Aguero and A.Sanchez are equivalently priced. In such a scenario my inference is that the latter is Pep's handpick. Why Pep wants him over Aguero we are not sure but we can try to guess. I would say versatility, greater speed and better work rate could be some of the reasons. Playing Aguero as a winger may not have been all that great but with A.Sanchez we can definitely do that. What I find very significant is that in spite of having Afellay already in the squad we are still willing to spend so much money on A.Sanchez. That means Pep and the rest of the board rate him very high. Overall I do think that though overpriced, this is a decent purchase which brings something new to the first team while G.Rossi would have only added bench strength.

Why Luis Suarez in Goal.Com's 11? Wilshere and Suarez inclusion really devalued the article hugely. The only reason I find behind this is to give equal share to 4 English Giants by allocating each player each. Thumbs down to the article and its author.

To be honest it was always going to be wrong... they basically made a World XI rather than a team that would be actually good against Barca.

Leaving out Robben is the cardinal sin, after that... no point reading anymore. Robben would be the player I fear the most against Barca, easily. See what problems he gave Spain for example.

^how many Bayern fan out there? They make their calculation very well.

messixaviesta wrote:Bati, some good questions.

Goal.com has gone for Wilshire while most of us here felt Banega was more deserving. The worst mistake in Goal.com's article is to not even mention Banega. As for W.Samuel, yes he is more than worthy of consideration but I suppose they are looking at a team that can be formed right now. W.Samuel is too plagued with injuries while T.Silva is in peak form. Aguero is a really difficult one. I do think they need a quality finisher with big match mentality and for that reason Eto'o's inclusion is understandable. I would take Robben over C.Ronaldo because he is a better dribbler but Goal.com have looked at his injury record. As for the third player, that is most open to debate. I had gone for Hulk but Aguero, L.Suarez and several others are worth considering.

Now for your second question. It seems that Aguero and A.Sanchez are equivalently priced. In such a scenario my inference is that the latter is Pep's handpick. Why Pep wants him over Aguero we are not sure but we can try to guess. I would say versatility, greater speed and better work rate could be some of the reasons. Playing Aguero as a winger may not have been all that great but with A.Sanchez we can definitely do that. What I find very significant is that in spite of having Afellay already in the squad we are still willing to spend so much money on A.Sanchez. That means Pep and the rest of the board rate him very high. Overall I do think that though overpriced, this is a decent purchase which brings something new to the first team while G.Rossi would have only added bench strength.

Brilliant !!!

and btw why is Ronaldo on the team, he played so much games against Barca but really never did anything particular! ffs even Di maria will be better on the wing, he was their best player in CDR!!

Ronaldo has done next to nothing against Barca in what like 8 games?

BarcaKizz wrote:Robben would be the player I fear the most against Barca, easily. See what problems he gave Spain for example.

I agree completely. He is a nightmare for weak left backs. Even doubling up on him is not easy. He ate Michel Bastos for lunch in WC 2010. With us it wouldn't be so easy with the classy Abidal but we would still have to keep a very close eye on him.

Robben would give Messi a run for his money if he wasn't so injury prone, he's a player with real talent

Batigoal wrote:
Brilliant !!!

and btw why is Ronaldo on the team, he played so much games against Barca but really never did anything particular! ffs even Di maria will be better on the wing, he was their best player in CDR!!

Thank you very much.

Yes I wouldn't take C.Ronaldo. He has not done much against us. What has happened is after that header in Copa, it's kind of seen as a sign that he has broken the taboo against Barcelona and could be expected to do more in future. To that add the fact that he scores so many goals. Finally Robben's constant injury problems go against his selection. So I can just about understand Goal.com's point of view but I would have certainly taken Robben in my team.

Lionel Messi wrote:Robben would give Messi a run for his money if he wasn't so injury prone, he's a player with real talent

I wouldn't go so far as to compare him with Messi because the Argentine is from another planet.

However I am a big fan of Robben and like you I believe the only reason for him not being talked among the best players of today are his injury problems and literally nothing else.

messixaviesta wrote:

Lionel Messi wrote:Robben would give Messi a run for his money if he wasn't so injury prone, he's a player with real talent

I wouldn't go so far as to compare him with Messi because the Argentine is from another planet.

However I am a big fan of Robben and like you I believe the only reason for him not being talked among the best players of today are his injury problems and literally nothing else.

True, Messi shouldn't be compared to anyone currently playing right now.

My 11: GK- Casillas - he really saved RM in Copa del Rey Final and in 1st half of CL second leg. Best goalkeeper in big matches, he may not have better statistics in whole season than VV, but in big game he is definitely the boss. Julio Cesar was also boss in CL meetings vs Barca, but I picked Iker, so he is simply a master when it comes to really important game.

LB- Ashley Cole - he was solid over two legs in 2008-09 CL semis.

RB- Javier Zanetti - outsanding in 2009-10 semis, he can play on RB, so I will pick him.

CB- Lucio - monster in 2009-10.

CB- Walter Samuel - another member of Internazionale side.

DMF- Cambiasso - brilliant in semis, very intelligent and underrated player, I will definitely have him in my team instead of Pepe.

CMF- Banega - in this season he was the best midfield player that we played against. At CN and Mestalla he didn't get bullied by our midfield. Shame that Goal.com omitted him.

AMF- Sneijder - agree with Goal.com argumentation.

Front line: Aguero - Eto'o- Robben

Aguero has the best record against our club from all forwards if I remember correctly. His performance at Calderon in that 4-3 epic game was brilliant. Eto'o is big game player and vs Barca you should take every chance you'll get. I will pick Eto'o as CF. Robben maybe doesn't have the best workrate and sometimes is too selfish, but he has chemistry with Sneijder and is deadly on the counter. Healthy Robben on his best day is unplayable. Shame that he is so injury prone.

That's my choice, feel free to disagree

matpol, excellent post and selection. It might be the best selection that I have read from anyone on this so far.

I have to say, I wouldnt take Eto'o to play against us. We cant be hypocrites about this.

Cristiano has done next to nothing in his games vs us, well Eto'o has done next to nothing in like 4 games against us also.

I think the reasons are different between the two, but its true that he has been shut down each and every game.

matpol wrote:My 11: GK- Casillas - he really saved RM in Copa del Rey Final and in 1st half of CL second leg. Best goalkeeper in big matches, he may not have better statistics in whole season than VV, but in big game he is definitely the boss. Julio Cesar was also boss in CL meetings vs Barca, but I picked Iker, so he is simply a master when it comes to really important game.

LB- Ashley Cole - he was solid over two legs in 2008-09 CL semis.

RB- Javier Zanetti - outsanding in 2009-10 semis, he can play on RB, so I will pick him.

CB- Lucio - monster in 2009-10.

CB- Walter Samuel - another member of Internazionale side.

DMF- Cambiasso - brilliant in semis, very intelligent and underrated player, I will definitely have him in my team instead of Pepe.

CMF- Banega - in this season he was the best midfield player that we played against. At CN and Mestalla he didn't get bullied by our midfield. Shame that Goal.com omitted him.

AMF- Sneijder - agree with Goal.com argumentation.

Front line: Aguero - Eto'o- Robben

Aguero has the best record against our club from all forwards if I remember correctly. His performance at Calderon in that 4-3 epic game was brilliant. Eto'o is big game player and vs Barca you should take every chance you'll get. I will pick Eto'o as CF. Robben maybe doesn't have the best workrate and sometimes is too selfish, but he has chemistry with Sneijder and is deadly on the counter. Healthy Robben on his best day is unplayable. Shame that he is so injury prone.

That's my choice, feel free to disagree

Totally agree with Cambiasso is one of the most underrated Players, I just read in Ole, that he is the argentine player with the most Titles in history, even more than Di Stefano!!!
what a great free signing for Inter

Maybe as the striker Kanoute?

The Franchise wrote:I have to say, I wouldnt take Eto'o to play against us. We cant be hypocrites about this.

Cristiano has done next to nothing in his games vs us, well Eto'o has done next to nothing in like 4 games against us also.

I think the reasons are different between the two, but its true that he has been shut down each and every game.

That's a fair point. I didn't take him in my team. I wanted a forward with a physical presence and went for Llorente. However Eto'o is a big match player and I can understand to some extent why others would pick him. On one wing I will have Robben. The other wing is more difficult and there are several good options including Aguero but I went for Hulk because of the added power.

My biggest conundrum is the midfield. I want to take three out of these four players but which three - Cambiasso, Banega, Yaya and Sneijder. I need Cambiasso because of his tactical abilities and intelligent game reading. I need Banega to try to hold on to possession as far as possible. I want Yaya to be a defensive shield using his strength and athleticism and also make runs from end to end. However none of them including Banega have the pin point passing of Sneijder. Both my wings will be occupied by fast wingers and delivering the ball to them precisely as well as setting up an assist for the center forward are very important. Banega can do it to some extent but not to the level of Sneijder. If I take Sneijder instead then he can't maintain possession the way Banega can. Maybe then the best way out is to drop Cambiasso and have Banega do some defensive duty even though I admire Cambiasso. Otherwise I will have to drop Yaya and that means I lose strength, athleticism and end to end runs. I can't play with four midfielders because I need two fast wingers and one center forward. This is where I am most perplexed.

In defense I want J.Zanetti. He can take either flank but who do I put on the other. I may have to go for Ashley Cole because at least he is more convincing defensively than the others I can think of. In central defense Lucio has to be there but his partner is debatable. Ideally Walter Samuel but considering his present state, I may go fot Thiago Silva.

Lastly in goal I want Iker Casillas because even though there are other good options, there is just something about Iker and big matches.