OFFICIAL: Jordi Alba Joins Barcelona.

@ Dani

Your talking as if there is a better leftback then Alba on the market for a cheaper price. You know as well as I do that there is not, he is by far the cheapest option we were going to get, and a very good one. Again, who did you want? Alaba? Lahm? Vargas? Baines? Bale? Who? Alba has been the best leftback at the euros, hasn't beem exposed like Coentrao has after his usual dribble into the opposition half. He has the speed which has help Spain break through parked buses, like against France, where he produced a wonderful cross for Alonso. Which is something else he brings, unlike Alves, he can actually cross the bloody ball. He also has Alves stamina as seen in the game versus Portugal where he was still running at full pelt in the 118th minute.

I do believe he will be as good as Abidal, not in the same way as Abidal is good, as he doesnt have his height, but in terms of giving us an extra threat on the counter he is an extremly good buy.

People have to stop being so nostalgic about Abidal, he was crap hos first season, has made mistakes which have led to goals under Pep and has been terrible as a CB for France. He was a world class leftback for us, but please, stop talking about him as if he's the best leftback of all time, leave that to Madrid fans please, were better then that.

I have a feeling Abidal may be playing at centre back with Alba, Adriano and Muniesa coming into the side!

Im coming to a bit of a compromise between your opinions.

I definitely feel Dani is being harsh and pessimistic, but I wouldn't go quite as far as Jonathan. I think youre hating on Alba a bit because he isn't the ideal type of player we would like. I'm really pretty impressed by Alba and 14m isnt that much... We are barca, we always get raped in the transfer market. I agree I think we could have got it down to 12m but oh well. Like it has been said... There aren't really many better options. Filipe and Enrique are probably too players I'm a bit disappointed we didn't look at much... But otherwise there was a lack of talent in this position.

Best Lb in the tournament? I think he's close actually. Only reason Coentrao's been better is he has half a field to himself most of the time he got a touch. If Alba had that space he would have done similar damage. In the tight spaces he's worked in he has been excellent. He has an exciting, natural combination with Iniesta, which I can't wait to see more of, he works his socks off and he's not a sh*t defender like being said. No, I won't overlook the fact he's a midget, but hey... he can ball. If he was 6" but exactly the same in all other qualities we'd all be fapping madly over this signing.

The idea of a short back 4 with Alves- masch- puyol- alba scares me... But if we buy another tall CB, we at least have two options against an aerial threat. Plenty of teams play with 2 short fullbacks. So basically I'm saying to make up for Alba's weakness we should sign an aerial ace.

But Jonathan... You go a bit far by saying he would have prevented goal against Chelsea. It also doesn't really matter that Abidal wasn't always great for France and he was poor in his first season because we are rating him on his time after that and the important player he has become for us.

One more thing... I would still like to see more of Adriano... Very impressed by him.

I would have loved to see Enrique and Filipe on Barca's radar. Enrqiue was could have easily got for less than 15m and especially with Liverpool coming 8th, he provides more height for Barca though he is error-prone!

14m for a 23 year old left back *a role that is in very high demand* is a hell of a price if you ask me, you guys shouldn't try judging him so quickly and give him a chance.

Donuts wrote:14m for a 23 year old left back *a role that is in very high demand* is a hell of a price if you ask me, you guys shouldn't try judging him so quickly and give him a chance.

While you're comment is true to an extent, he was on the last year of his contract.

As said before, this is the price Madrid got OZIL for. There should be no reason that price couldn't have been 10 million. If it's 10 million I'm a happier man, but oh well.

I'm ok with the signing. I have been pretty impressed with him this Euros both offensively (especially) and defensively he hasn't been bad at all. Doesn't change the fact that he's typically kinda meh defensively and doesn't have height.

I guess I'm glad we got someone though. But he doesn't offer the same options as Abidal. I really wish he did...Abidal is exactly the type of LB we need and Alba is kind of in the complete opposite direction.

An average signing. Not too bad, but could be a lot better. Then again, there aren't too many options for us are there?

An absolute steal imo. Great singing, easily the best of so far in this transfer window.

To be honest I think Alba's performance in the euros added a few million on top. On the Ozil thing at the time Madrid bought him it wasent known whether he would be as good as he was in the WC, Madrid took a chance and it paid off, were takingvs similar chance with Alba, and if it pays if, the fee will look like a bargain.

I probablu did go a bit ovetboard with the Alba laugh, no hard feelings Dani.

BarcaKizz wrote:Im coming to a bit of a compromise between your opinions.

I definitely feel Dani is being harsh and pessimistic, but I wouldn't go quite as far as Jonathan. I think youre hating on Alba a bit because he isn't the ideal type of player we would like. I'm really pretty impressed by Alba and 14m isnt that much... We are barca, we always get raped in the transfer market. I agree I think we could have got it down to 12m but oh well. Like it has been said... There aren't really many better options. Filipe and Enrique are probably too players I'm a bit disappointed we didn't look at much... But otherwise there was a lack of talent in this position.

Best Lb in the tournament? I think he's close actually. Only reason Coentrao's been better is he has half a field to himself most of the time he got a touch. If Alba had that space he would have done similar damage. In the tight spaces he's worked in he has been excellent. He has an exciting, natural combination with Iniesta, which I can't wait to see more of, he works his socks off and he's not a sh*t defender like being said. No, I won't overlook the fact he's a midget, but hey... he can ball. If he was 6" but exactly the same in all other qualities we'd all be fapping madly over this signing.

The idea of a short back 4 with Alves- masch- puyol- alba scares me... But if we buy another tall CB, we at least have two options against an aerial threat. Plenty of teams play with 2 short fullbacks. So basically I'm saying to make up for Alba's weakness we should sign an aerial ace.

But Jonathan... You go a bit far by saying he would have prevented goal against Chelsea. It also doesn't really matter that Abidal wasn't always great for France and he was poor in his first season because we are rating him on his time after that and the important player he has become for us.

One more thing... I would still like to see more of Adriano... Very impressed by him.

+1

In the end what we're getting is a slightly better, less injury prone and younger version of Adriano. Only downside is that he's not going to bring much (more) defensively, he's (also) short and he costs us money. I agree it's steep though, but looking at how he plays for Spain I do see him performing well from the start. We just need that CB and we're set.

height isnt everything come on guys.. its not even like la liga plays crossing for the most part. Falcao is 5 `9 and hes up there with llorente and cristiano at being the best at headers. Masch is 5 8 and he wins his fair share of headers. dont question his damn height, question his ability, which he is quite underrated of here looking at the comments

But we definitely lack height, making it very important. And let's not even try to pass Alba as being good enough in the air. It may work out a few times, but he is definitely not the solution to the height dilemma.

get a new cb which i am almost certain barca are looking into.. trust me, itll be a challenge to find one under 6ft

Even though it is not related to Alba, height is actually not the utmost necessary quality for a defender with aerial capability. Because there are 3 other factors that contribute to one's aerial ability:

1- The most important one is reading the ball trajectory. If you can read where and in what speed a ball moves, you have a great chance of positioning yourself in the right place and jump at the right time. It is worth mentioning that it is easier to defend a long ball than score it, because the defender has only got to get to the ball and clear it while the striker has to get to the ball and place it.

2- Jumping ability and strength - How high you can jump, you may be short but you can make up for it with how high you jump and also how strong (physically) you are in the air with the opposition striker. Cannavaro was one of the best aerial defenders in the game and he was only 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), not exactly tall.

3- Determination - Often overlooked but it plays a very important role. How much you want the ball. Look at Puyol. He wins almost every header and every 50-50 ball because he is so determined.

That is all true, but the fact remains that when it comes down to your factor one and two, being tall is going to make it much easier for you to win a duel in the air. In the end you're going to have that determination anyway, if you want to be a top defender. Masche has been awesome for us when it comes to play over the ground, but not so much through the air. His tackling shows he is a master of timing (which is obviously a big factor when it comes down to your first point), but he just can't pull it off as a beast in the air.

Jonathan28 wrote:@ Dani

Your talking as if there is a better leftback then Alba on the market for a cheaper price. You know as well as I do that there is not, he is by far the cheapest option we were going to get, and a very good one. Again, who did you want? Alaba? Lahm? Vargas? Baines? Bale? Who? Alba has been the best leftback at the euros, hasn't beem exposed like Coentrao has after his usual dribble into the opposition half. He has the speed which has help Spain break through parked buses, like against France, where he produced a wonderful cross for Alonso. Which is something else he brings, unlike Alves, he can actually cross the bloody ball. He also has Alves stamina as seen in the game versus Portugal where he was still running at full pelt in the 118th minute.

I do believe he will be as good as Abidal, not in the same way as Abidal is good, as he doesnt have his height, but in terms of giving us an extra threat on the counter he is an extremly good buy.

Yes, there might be better options if we bothered looking. What is go great about Alba compared to Alvero Perieira? Or how about Alex Sandro?

I barely call France a parked bus, lets not compare NT football to club football. Alves stamina...I doubt that.

I aint buying all this hype. He is a good little player, but he is a migit and 14m for a leftback just generally speaking is pricey...but in the last year of their contract...Just stupid.

Same deal for half the price, I dont have a problem.

Giggity5313 wrote:height isnt everything come on guys.. its not even like la liga plays crossing for the most part. Falcao is 5 `9 and hes up there with llorente and cristiano at being the best at headers. Masch is 5 8 and he wins his fair share of headers. dont question his damn height, question his ability, which he is quite underrated of here looking at the comments

He got owned in the air by a 5'9 rightback.

The Franchise wrote:

Jonathan28 wrote:@ Dani

Your talking as if there is a better leftback then Alba on the market for a cheaper price. You know as well as I do that there is not, he is by far the cheapest option we were going to get, and a very good one. Again, who did you want? Alaba? Lahm? Vargas? Baines? Bale? Who? Alba has been the best leftback at the euros, hasn't beem exposed like Coentrao has after his usual dribble into the opposition half. He has the speed which has help Spain break through parked buses, like against France, where he produced a wonderful cross for Alonso. Which is something else he brings, unlike Alves, he can actually cross the bloody ball. He also has Alves stamina as seen in the game versus Portugal where he was still running at full pelt in the 118th minute.

I do believe he will be as good as Abidal, not in the same way as Abidal is good, as he doesnt have his height, but in terms of giving us an extra threat on the counter he is an extremly good buy.

Yes, there might be better options if we bothered looking. What is go great about Alba compared to Alvero Perieira? Or how about Alex Sandro?

I barely call France a parked bus, lets not compare NT football to club football. Alves stamina...I doubt that.

I aint buying all this hype. He is a good little player, but he is a migit and 14m for a leftback just generally speaking is pricey...but in the last year of their contract...Just stupid.

Same deal for half the price, I dont have a problem.

As I say before... still sitting on the fence and waiting on this one because he deserves a chance like all our signings.

However, on this quote.
1.He's Spanish, even better Catalan.
2. Proven in La Liga.
3. Proven to be comfortable playing tiki-taka and our type of football.
4. Proven to have a very nice understanding with Iniesta.

Those are a few basic reasons why he's a better option than those guys.

Personally, the understanding with Iniesta and Pedro is worth 10 million alone, notably with Iniesta. We could maybe play a double pivot like Spain do to allow Alves and Alba to both go foward, but it depends of what Tito wants to do.

And if Alex Sandro was half of Alba's 14m, to me, all that is irrelevant.

Double pivot...........like Spain do...you really want to see that?

In all honesty no, but then again, Spain don't have Alves and Messi. With Pique and Puyol as the CB's, Busquests and Masche as the DM's and Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc as the 3 behind Messi it may work, and we certainly wouldn't be as boring as Spain, no, boring is the wrong word, unadventurous as Spain, their football isn't boring, I've been listening to too much TalkSport.

So essentially it will be

-------Valdes-----
Alves-Puyol-Pique-Alba
--Busquests--Machete--
-Xavi-----------Iniesta-
--------Cesc--------
--------Messi--------

Forgot to add, due to his age you could move Xavi to Machete's position and play Pedro/Villa/Sanchez instead.

Macherano at DM....not thanks. Poor in that position. Xavi cant play there either, he isnt going to just hand back and never move forward. His role is about being everywhere.

And the lack of width in that team is shocking.

Alves and Alba could both provide the width since the double pivot would allow both of them to go foward, but then again, it may backfire, but who knows, we might have found our park the bus solution. "If you won't come out and play football we'll just keep the ball forever."

Not that I agree with Jonathan28's formation/line-up but lack of width? Did you know the Brazil team that won 4 World Cups and came runner up twice used 4-4-2 formation extensively. As long as you got quick, hard working full-backs like Alves and Alba, width is not going to be a problem but sure it is a very demanding task to ask your fullbacks to perform like that twice a week for a season. Also 4-4-2 is theoretically the best formation to cover the pitch (CBs, DMs and STs covering 60% while WBs and SMFs cover 40%).