Re: UCL | QF 2nd Leg | Atletico Madrid V Barcelona

by sree999 Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 22:54

Messi has regressed . Somebody has to tell the truth

by BarrileteCosmico Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:03

This is depressing. Getting a result at the Calderon was always going to be hard and with Tata's "put every big name on the team sheet tactic and refuse to learn from previous performances" it is not exactly surprising.

First time in 7 seasons we don't make semis?

We still depend entirely on ourselves for the league though.

by BarcaLearning Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:06

I was optimistic about the league, but that last game vs Atletico now I take as a definitely loss, 6 pointers to Atletico. I cant imagine them pipping us and Real to the title though, that would be some story ffs!

by Brady2Moss Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:16

sree999 wrote:Messi has regressed . Somebody has to tell the truth

He looked uninterested tonight just like Ronaldhino did back in 08. Barca need more goal threats in that team. Can't keep relying on Messi forever.

by windkick Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:23

Ouch. I saw it coming but it still hurts like crazy Sad

I'm avoiding the general section or any other footy sites at risk of reading the haters rubbing it in. It's too soon for me Sad

We had a marvelous run, if not one of the greatest runs of all time. So we shouldn't hold our heads down in shame. Like some one mentioned, this reminds me allot of the 08 season when Ronaldinho and the team just kinda stopped working and the confidence suddenly stopped.

damn Zubi and Rossel and everyone involved who has kept avoiding adding the neccesarry changes this team needed the last 2-3 seasons. Things will get even worse if we can't even sign a keeper/defender/mid/goal scorer until the next summer. Brace yourself, things are only going to get worse

And seriously, some one needs to ship Cesc and Mascherano off the damn team arleady. And what happened to the lethal, i don't give a *bleep* I'm going to score on you, Messi? Jesus...

by BarrileteCosmico Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:26

Messi has never really been a difference maker against park the bus teams, he needs space.

by Brady2Moss Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:52

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Messi has never really been a difference maker against park the bus teams, he needs space.

...but Atletico Madrid never "parked the bus".

Personally, I think that term is getting abused. "Bus parking" literally means putting every man behind the ball with little or no interest of ever attacking. Atletico had more chances on goal than Barca.

by Donuts Wed 9 Apr 2014 - 23:53

are we really going to overlook our whole defensive errors and put it all on messi?

by windkick Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 0:03

ofcourse not. Bit at the end of the day we lost cause we couldnt score not cause we conceded. So thats why our attack will get looked at more than our defensive blunders.

besides, we had Valdes and Pique out. Masch is crap and Bartra is on and off. people expected our back to be horrid. Our mids/forwards were healthy though, and we couldnt break a goal in. Im not putting blame on Messi, but come on.

Im going to get upset if he goes on his usual "we are out of the UCL" mode and scores like 20 from here on out. For 2 games he was hardly seen and was lazy. A messi with no hunger is about as useful in a big game as having a Bojan upfront (Im venting, I know I sound retarded leave me alone)

by BarrileteCosmico Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 0:58

Martino wrote:"In the first minutes of the match the game was played to Atleti's favour, with long balls. We never had the chance to creat 4 or 5 consecutive passes like we are used to. We expected to have much more control of the play.

We tried to get Messi to get one on one on the right side and he had two chances from there even though he didn't participate much overall. While we wanted him to be more involved our plan was not set solely around him.

I always highlight the importance of scoring the first goal. All the matches we played against Atleti followed the same game plan.

The team is hurt, we will mourn, we will talk and we will move on."

Xavi wrote:"I'm not sure who were better, I would have to rewatch the match. I think we deserved at least a draw. We had four or five chances that we would normally score on. I think we have played two good matches, with chances created both home and away. I want to congratulate Atleti and we'll see if they are lucky from here onwards. Congratulations to all colchoneros."

Iniesta wrote:Yes I was suprised to be substitutded, but that is a decision for the coach to make. We knew it would be a hard match and that they would exploit their virtues to the maximum. There is nothing to reproach the players about. The important thing is to be calm and everyone will do their individual analysis. It's a hard blow because it is a very nice competition. Now we must think that we have a final against Granada, that there's very little left to lift another Liga and there's still the Copa final."

Alves wrote:The rival lacked ideas. The rival proposed a very high intensity, with very close lines and as of the goal it set out to defend and counterattack, and hoofed the ball up top. We have tried from all ways possible, maybe we were not entirely clinical in the finishing.

They had the chance where they scored the goal, although perhaps we could have conceded another one as well. We have to congratulate the rival for their performance and because they have been the worthy winners.

It worked for them, there's no other way about it. It was not a matter of hunger, they used all their weapons available, they left the pitch very, very dry and they know that harms our football because it slows the game, and for their plan it was perfect, hoof the ball up, fight and counter.

Of course they are worthy winners. When a team like this carries out their plan to perfect we have no other choice but to congratulate them. What happens inside the pitch is always fair.

Alba wrote:We started the game off and they were very focused from the setoff, especially in the first 20 minutes. The match was an uphill battle for us. In both matches we've seen that they were the better team in the beginning. Meanwhile we have not been able to get on the scoresheet, they closed off very deep. All the matches against Atletico have required a lot of effort from us, they are very aggressive, solid at the back and play well. Now we have to move on.

by Winter is Coming Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 1:05

No Costa and Turan and we still lose? Credit to Atleti and Simone, but this attitude from majority of the squad is just disgusting. Am I the only one who though Xavi seemed like the only guy trying to do something?

We need to finished this season off with the CL gone, a t least we can focus on the league more and hope for both Madrid to drop points and hopefully reflect on this season in the summer.

by Donuts Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 1:12

the problem is with everyone, not just the forwards.

I look at our defense and laugh at how terrible it is and think back to how we actually manage to salvage points off other big teams, the answer is that we depend a lot in our midfield and wingers to track back and help out.
I did not once see Neymar or Messi (the wingers for tonight) track back, neymar once or twice with corners but thats about it.

Our defence could not distribute the ball to the midfield and were countlessly under pressure, Atletico made sure our distribution was high balls which they could easily win and only ever lost the ball to them misplacing it out of bounds.

Our usual dribblers (Messi/Iniesta/Neymar) completely bottled it, hardly ever got past their man with the exception of that one neymar nutmeg, a horrible sign when we play a team who are so physical and tight together in their box.

Xavi had a decent game was the only one who could actually get a pass out successfully and gave our best chance of the night (the neymar run getting stopped by Courtois)

Bartra was caught ball watching countlessly while Mascherano was busy trying his best to concede a penalty.

Dani Alves and Alba none stop crossing the ball which is understandable because we couldn't do *bleep* all in the middle.

Messi did nothing honestly, the only thing he managed to do is sway 3-4 on his ass all game but still his header should of gone it, not acceptable.
he cannot play in the wing if he wont track back, same issue with Ronaldo if they refuse to track back they should stick to the middle.

Neymar put in his hard work but like Sanchez they work really hard and nothing came out of it, i like that he sprinted all the time but was it really useful?

the tactic was a bad one and ima pin this down on Tata..

wont even talk about cesc he was practically invisible all game.

by Donuts Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 1:13

Winter is Coming wrote:No Costa and Turan and we still lose? Credit to Atleti and Simone, but this attitude from majority of the squad is just disgusting. Am I the only one who though Xavi seemed like the only guy trying to do something?

We need to finished this season off with the CL gone, a t least we can focus on the league more and hope for both Madrid to drop points and hopefully reflect on this season in the summer.

atletico madrid does not have a set best player, they work as a team it has been proven when falcao left and it is proven when costa doesn't play.

by Brady2Moss Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 1:25

Donuts wrote:
Winter is Coming wrote:No Costa and Turan and we still lose? Credit to Atleti and Simone, but this attitude from majority of the squad is just disgusting. Am I the only one who though Xavi seemed like the only guy trying to do something?

We need to finished this season off with the CL gone, a t least we can focus on the league more and hope for both Madrid to drop points and hopefully reflect on this season in the summer.
atletico madrid does not have a set best player, they work as a team it has been proven when falcao left and it is proven when costa doesn't play.

Atletico Madrid pressure really well. From the get go to finish it was all in Simeone's team favor. Gotta blame Tata for starting Fabregas in such an important game.

Barca needs pace in the midfield. Iniesta, Fabregas, Xavi and Busquets are all dead slow and easily overrun on counter attacks. It's becoming increasingly easy for just about any team to score against Barca on the counter.

by shinigami99 Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 2:10

Pretty much the easiest way to score against us and I think most teams have figured it out is to simply send a floated ball between our CBs. It doesn't even have to be a hoof, just a harmless floater and our because of our shitty defense, it would be like the best throughball ever. Our team continuously loses aerial battles. And this was JUST defense.

I'm not sure what alves was doing sending in those shitty crosses all night.

by CBarca Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 3:43

Missed it like usual because of school, but wow...

Will have to take my swearing elsewhere. I feel like I should watch the game, but I'm too damn depressed. Maybe I will later after I've cooled off, but I'm not sure I'll want to watch what you guys are saying is depressing shit.

We all knew there were holes in the squad though. I'd have to watch the game again but judging on the big games I have seen (most of them) and the lineups/reactions for games I haven't, as well as the general form of the team over the season, I'm not sure I would give Tata another season, at this point I have to say I don't think so.

by CBarca Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 3:46

Now people are also going to think Real Madrid and Chelsea are better than us, too. We have holes in our squad that need filling, everyone can see that. But I'm not sure how both those teams are in the semi's when neither team is even that good...better draws I guess.

by Winter is Coming Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 3:55

Donuts wrote:
Winter is Coming wrote:No Costa and Turan and we still lose? Credit to Atleti and Simone, but this attitude from majority of the squad is just disgusting. Am I the only one who though Xavi seemed like the only guy trying to do something?

We need to finished this season off with the CL gone, a t least we can focus on the league more and hope for both Madrid to drop points and hopefully reflect on this season in the summer.
atletico madrid does not have a set best player, they work as a team it has been proven when falcao left and it is proven when costa doesn't play.

Yes, but with Turan and Costa Atleti could've made an even bigger impact.

by •MilanDevil• Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 4:39

I always thought that Barca might need a target man who can provide an alternative game plan. The defence definitely needs to improve but so do the tactics.

by windkick Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 5:27

As mentioned earlier, if UEFA manages to hold on and block the appeal before the summer, and we really get no transfers until the NEXT summer....

then things are going to start to look really bad.

by eelir Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 6:43

I am glad I was at work. I will not watch the game. I saw the linup before i went to the meeting and I knew this would happen.

Tata has some serious problem learning from his mistakes. Cesc did nothing last game and things changed once Alexis was in, and he still did same exact thing. If we weren't in trouble with transfer ban i would kick him out at the end of the season.

by Doc Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 7:26

CBarca wrote:Now people are also going to think Real Madrid and Chelsea are better than us, too. We have holes in our squad that need filling, everyone can see that. But I'm not sure how both those teams are in the semi's when neither team is even that good...better draws I guess.

I know it's hard to admit a rival is any good but both said teams are that good to make it to the semis whether you wanna recognise it or not.

by Stejo Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 8:45

We didn't really need to lose a high profile game to realise the team's shortcomings this season. The game played out as expected, could've swung either way, unfortunately it went their way. Well deserved, since they were a bit better last night I think and they'll certainly enjoy it more than a team who's been in the semis for 6 years straight. I'll be rooting for them to lift it tbh, considering who the other 3 teams are.

by sree999 Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 16:46

Messi covered 6.7 kms as compared to neymar who covered 9.8 . Wow

by vivabarca38 Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 18:44

For anyone who didnt watch the game,you don't have to.You can describe it in a few words:

Xavi->pass to Alves->Cross by Alves who can't cross anyway and can't see that there are 800 Atleti p
Ayers in the box->Cleared->Counter Attack for Atleti who rape shitty Bartra and Mascherano and non-existent Alves.

If I was one of the players I'd refuse to play the game after such little tactics by Martino.It's like he tells them just go out there and play Possession And try to press if you can.
If I was Martino after seeing what a pathetic effortless performance that was,esp.after seeing play as one hell of a team,I'd make them all take their Barcashirts off in the dressing room and tell them they don't deserve to wear it.

by The Franchise Thu 10 Apr 2014 - 23:16

sree999 wrote:Messi covered 6.7 kms as compared to neymar who covered 9.8 . Wow

Koke literally ran twice as much distance. I am tired of his bullocks effort and all the people ready to give every excuse in the world for him.

Anyway...I wasnt depressed so much as I was just tired of the same old crap. This started ages ago with the failure to update the squad properly and in turn, keep the correct players.

I repeat myself too much as it is, but I will do it one more time here...selling David Villa to rival was a amazing idea.

I think if anyone wasnt sure, its pretty clear there are a number of players in the team that are failing to produce what is required, be that on a consistent basis, on the highest level or whatever.

Atletico molested us early..all that bluster of first goal completely blown away. The contrast in their speed, effort, intensity and defensive team work compared to ours..well you saw.

I wont pick out individuals to blame, I learnt nothing new about the players (good and bad) that I already didnt know.

It seems like Martino is too weak or too stupid to pick the positions of players better, or change it correctly, or even correct what needed correcting.

The saddest part of the night for me was probably the most feeble attempts to find a goal from a Barca side I seen in a very long time, that final 10+ minutes of useless highballs and crosses.

Like that was ever gonna work.

Dani Alves made a couple superb crosses in the game, no argument...but that as a steady diet to attack..I was just thinking, cant we lose with some dignity at least.

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