FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Since my lack of sleep this week and a boring day at work is making me delusional, I'll say that if I were a gay man, I would say that Xavi is a part-time lover and a full-time friend.

Xavi is a beast and the best CM in the WORLD at present. I can't wait until he starts scoring the magnificent goals that he can score but didn't under Rijkaard's system due to being further away from the opponents' box.

If he does go to Hamburger, I'm gonna start calling him the Hamburglar because I am too witty for my own pants, which is why I'm at work. With no pants on.

I was hyperventilating while I was writing that to match your hyperventilation. :-P

I'm not sure where you got the impression that I think poorly of Serie A with your few paragraphs. Also, when did I mention that Serie A was corrupt?

Zambrotta is a great player...in Serie A. Did you watch the Euros? How many chances did Toni miss? Look up the number of shots he took, and let me know.

And when it comes to watching the bottom half of the 3 big leagues, the one that makes me want to castrate myself is Serie A. It's like watching 2 immovable fortresses attack each other, if that even makes sense, which it doesn't, which is the point. Defenders' mindsets seem to be uniformly, "Hey, let's blow out that guy's ACL, and then clear out every ball that I touch in our half out of bounds!" Sounds like a fun time to me...like a blind man at the circus.

Zambrotta did well for us? Really? I thought he was a ghost most of the time watching our matches, but maybe I'm just crazy.

Serie A is a good league, but the one thing it lacks compared to EPL or Spain is pace which is why I saw players like Zambrotta and Abidal flame out after the first third of the season.

Sure, the Bundesliga teams scored tons of goals, but look at most teams style of play. It is very attacking. Why do you think Toni scored 30+ goals but scored 0 in the Euros? Fatigue? Maybe, but I think that seeing the step-up in quality of play did it in for him (plus the fact that he doesn't show up for most Azzurri games).

As far as my thoughts on Bradley go, I agree with the half that don't think of him much more than an average to above average midfielder with some potential. I hear a lot of the "he scored 19 goals! 19!" And then I watch highlights of the goals and it bolsters my opinion that he's great at tap-ins and open goal shots from 7-10 yards out. He still makes crucial errors for the men's team, and isn't a great ball distributor and doesn't have a predatory striking instinct like some of the better CMs and CAMs do. I do think he will improve, but by much is up in the air, although I don't expect any leaps and bounds out of him.

He should stay at Heerenven because (echo alert) he will definitely be bench fodder for Hamburg or Middlesbrough. As D-Wreck said, I really don't see any way where Bradley would be able to start for either of those teams in at least the first year he plays for them.

Ahhh...so many words, so little to say in response to Mattghias.

About the game itself, I agree that the Red Bulls looked star-struck all match. They just sort of seemed to exist on the pitch to react, painfully slowly, to anything that the Blaugrana put to them. Not a whole lot to say about the match really that can't be presumed by looking at the final score, but Alves is definitely going to be a superstar with us, and Hleb looked pretty good to me and moved around the pitch well. Honestly, for it being a "transformation" season, the team is playing together very well, passing well, and playing aggressively.

I'm glad Hleb looks comfortable shooting so far, since he rarely did any of that while at Arsenal. Guddy also looks pretty good as a roving CAM/CM. It seems like Pep is getting the most out of the players as everyone looks very FIT and comfortable with each other.

About Valdes, the only reason he is still the starter is because he is Catalan. I hope we sign a keeper, although I don't think the GK spot is going to be bolstered anytime soon. Hopefully, Messi has a fantastic Olympics (which means not getting injured), and I can't wait to see the WHOLE team together.

Why do we keep Eto'o? Because he is the best pure striker in the world. His strike rate is always at or near the tops. About the aerial ability, Eto'o is great in the air and has scored plenty of headed goals. Eto'o is supremely fast, quick, possesses great technical ability, fantastic in big games, isn't selfish on the pitch, and is an absolute sniper in front of goals. He isn't African Nations Cup highest all-time goal-scorer at the age of 28 because of good luck. I have a feeling that the reason Eto'o demanded so much money is because he doesn't want to leave Barca. He's probably somewhat relieved that Dinho and Rijkaard are gone, and he seems to have a very good relationship with Guardiola, and has shown it on the pitch thus far. Plus, he enjoys being around Messi.

I think its funny when people comment on athletes and not honoring their contracts, as if clubs honor the contracts all the time. Think about it this way, when Ronaldo is old and can't play footy anymore, will Man Utd be in the same situation? No, more than likely, Man Utd will still be selling tickets, kits, competing for titles with new players, etc. Sports, as much as people would like to consider it pure entertainment is a BUSINESS.

How many times have we seen promising players livelihoods cut short from injuries? Look at Eduardo, there is a possibility he will never play again, with all the potential he had because of a terribly rash tackle. And who is to say that Ronaldo will be GREAT for another 3, 4, 5 years? He might turn into a waste of space next year, or be a superstar for the next 10 years. The thing is, nobody knows, and some of these athletes think that they should get the biggest contract they can to hedge against something like Eduardo's situation happening to them.

My point is, athletes have a choice, just like almost everybody else in the world, to do what they think will make them the happiest. Whether it be sniffing for the biggest contract, or being loyal to their clubs and rejecting bigger offers, they should be given the free will to do either, since any sporting club in the WORLD have only the club's interest at heart.

Anyways, I think Man Utd. will be fine without Ronaldo, especially with the amount of money they will have from letting him go. They could easily sign at least 2-3 world-class players, and honestly, I think Ronaldo's scoring rate had more to do with the players around him and the system rather than the player himself, although he is a great player.

It's not really a rumor, Madridist. It's been plastered all over various footy sites, and Milan has acknowledged that Bronzetti's been flying back and forth from Milan and Barca for us to lower his fee. It is being reported that the fee will be about 15M Euros, which is understandable (although astonishing since he was worth at least 4x more just 2 years ago) considering his $10M plus yearly salary and that Milan is struggling financially.

As much as I want my man Dinho to succeed, one doesn't throw away their career for 2 consecutive years after winning Champions League and La Liga if they haven't lost that fire. Sure, he can reclaim it, but how much different is Milan from Barcelona that we should expect him to act differently (in terms of partying, etc, not the culture/history which is obviously different), except that Milan is colder than Barca. History repeats itself for a reason, and I don't see Dinho breaking from the mold of the Brazilian superstars who have a few great years, only to fall into a chasm, career-wise. There was a reason that Rijkaard didn't allow Messi to hang out with Dinho off the pitch.

Thanks for the titles, Dinho. It was nice knowing you. All the best in Milan, but I hope you don't become another dead weight and get loaned out to Brasil in few years like Adriano...

I'm going to have to completely respectfully disagree with Barca4Life. Eto'o is not a complete cancer and I think that Pep would be more than willing to give him a chance. It's not as if Pep is some brand new coach swooping in from club X and re-designing the entire roster. Pep's been around the club forever and I don't think him or the club is willing to get rid of Eto'o at any and all costs.

Eto'o, in my opinion, is the best pure striker in Europe and I know that Barca realize that. Eto'o himself isn't going to the press to declare that he wants to move, etc. Eto'o did butt heads with 2 prominent figures at the club, but it was always with either Dinho or Rijkaard. Seeing that both are gone (or about to be), His place in the club is more secure, especially seeing that the whole Adebayor saga is up and down, and if anything, he'd probably be more of a cancer to the club than anybody else we could probably pick up. If Barca were trying to dump Eto'o and pull for X player at all costs, I think we would have put in more than a half-hearted attempt at Adebayor or whomever.

As far as gelling with the club goes, Eto'o has obvious respect for Messi and also for Henry as well. As rife as these rumor mills are about Eto'o, I think he's definitely the least likely to leave, as we don't have much of an alternative that is at his level who wouldn't be a "cancer" to the club. Sure, one could say the same for Dinho, but he's basically been a ghost for the past 2 seasons, so replacing him with the likes of someone like (just throwing a name out there) Hleb wouldn't be all that bad.

Anyone see Dinho at the FK competition a few days ago? He was as fat as ever, didn't seem to care at all whatsoever about the competition, and his FKs were arguably the poorest of anybody there, with the balls sailing well over or well wide. Mark my words, if Milan get Dinho, it will be a financial windfall for Barca and dead weight for Milan. Unfortunately, it seems like he's following the path of other famous Brazilians before him.

Sorry for the rant.

God, I hate Comcast. When I say God, I'm referring to (in alphabetical order) Allah, Buddha, Jesus, Vishnu, and Zeus. Maybe throw a little Rah in there. I've only had bad experiences with them (jacking up cable prices in addition to removing channels that I watch, along with TERRIBLE customer service).

I love watching NFL games, but things are starting to get ridiculous. Well, back to watching Euro 2008 until NFL season starts in August.

Interesting idea, but if I were a footballer, I'd be more worried about not getting hurt for a meaningless game that, as somebody said before, fans would be hard-pressed to attach any emotions to.

Living in the US, I'd say that a North American team facing Africa XI would be interesting, although I'd have a strong feeling that the Africans would be able to put a few goals up on us. I don't know how any combination of North American markers would be able to deal with even the forwards Drogba and Eto'o with someone like Adebayor coming off the bench. There is too much speed, strength, and steely quality and finishing from such players. North America would have...who? Granted Mexico has some good players, but AT THIS MOMENT, the Africans would dominate.

Before Pep went on holiday, he had a meeting with Dinho challenging him to regain the form from a few years prior. He did state that he was planning around the likelihood that Eto'o, Deco, and Dinho would be gone by the end of the summer, but I definitely didn't take it as outright dismissing the chance he'd be able to make the first team.

I think the next club with the best chance of signing Ronnie (besides Man City which I definitely don't think will happen) is Man Utd if they sell Ronaldo. If Dinho doesn't move and Pep doesn't WANT to include him in the squad for next season, Man Utd will be able to get him at a relative discount. All in all though, I' hope Dinho stays as he's the type of talent that is about irreplaceable in form.

(Agent) Dennis Lachter said: "He will play for Barcelona if Barcelona want him to play for them. But they are not the only club who are interested in him"

Arshavin: "It is my dream to play for Barcelona."

It's a shame that Txiki and Laporta aren't too keen on him and have already said that: "He is a good player (Arshavin), but we are looking at other options."

I think if we can't get Hleb, we should go for Arshavin since he wants to dress for us very badly. I love getting players who love the club, especially seeing that Arshavin's been a Barca supporter since childhood.

Whoever said we are getting rid of Xavi is an idiot. Barca fans would be having Laporta stew for dinner if that were the case.

With that out of the way, the only possibly thing I see is a Berbatov/Eto'o swap with us probably getting some cash as well. I still rate Eto'o as the best pure striker in the world when on the pitch, and he doesn't want to leave Barca. Plus, the board would much prefer to see Benzema - as do I - in the Blaugrana colours. Berbatov would be good, but Benzema has a much larger upside as he can readily become the next Great thing moreso than Berbatov.

That backline of ours is definitely gonna be different come August. Zambrotta, Thuram, probably Marquez and Milito are gonna be gone. Deco, Edmilson, probably Sylvinho and Iceman are gonna be gone as well. We'll see how things shape up. I can only think of the future...thinking about the past 2 seasons have been...painful. Congrats to Madrid though, as they took advantage of our supremely terrible play (esp. down the home stretch).

I just threw up a bit in my mouth for saying that last sentence. No offense. I was being honest, I swear! :-D

If anything, Leinart is like an incredibly lesser-talented Dinho, although that's a pretty bad comparison. No offense Irish, but I can't see Dinho and Leinart being compared to each other in any way.

As much as I hate to say this, looks like Dinho is gonna be out this summer, as he is fit to play but isn't even warming the bench for Liga games. I'm sure we'll see him out on the pitch for the CL matches though. I've also read several reports that Paul Allen is offering Henry $300k/week salary to headline for Seattle FC and that Henry is heavily considering it, considering he makes $256k/week at Barca. Zambrotta is as good as gone. It wouldn't be a stretch to see Thuram and Gio gone after this summer either. Looks like we're gonna be doing a lot of restructuring on the squad...

a few targets: Benzema, Fabiano, Lahm, Daniel Alves

I'll be sure to be at this match. Hopefully it will be entertaining :-D

I'm surprised nobody actually talked about the final match. I do realize that Dynamo was without a few starters, with Osaka missing 7 regulars and the pitch only being 60 yards wide or so, but that was quite a thrashing. I think the sound-blip of the Dynamo keeper said it all when "Are you **** kidding me?" made it onto national tv without any blips after, what I think was, the 5th Osaka goal.

Bare was an absolute beast for Osaka and either blew by or out-muscled the Dynamo defenders. It's too bad the MLS doesn't have anybody of his caliber relative to the league. Sure you can say Altidore and/or Angel are at about his level, but I would disagree at this point. Maybe Jozy in a few years, but this is why I can't watch MLS as of right now, although I'm excited that we're finally getting a franchise in Philly (not really Philly, but whatever).

There is NOBODY in MLS that strikes any kind of fear in any of their opponents. A few have the speed and/or power and/or work-rate, but not very good finishing ability. I see alot of mis-hits in MLS, flubbed open goals, what have you when I watch matches on the telly. I know people are gonna rip on me, but I have no problem with MLS. I know its a budding league, player salaries are still very down, and its still in an expansion stage. My friends that bemoan soccer for the lack of "entertainment" in the game whenever an MLS game is on the bar have a credible case.

It's funny because there are a few regular buds that I go drinking with about 2-3x a week, and usually a day a week we'll be there when an MLS game is playing on one or two screens and we'd get into a heated debate about futebol (me v them), with them using backpasses, agonizingly slow build-up, lack of scoring, etc as their main beefs. Then I told them to come out with me last Wednesday at 2:30PM before the Barca - Celtic CL match and I told them to watch how futebol should be played here in the states and I'd put em all on my tab regardless of whether they liked the quality or not. Not surprisingly, they enjoyed it immensely! I had told them to keep tabs more on ball/player movement more than scoring since neither team may score (although I doubted that the Blaugrana would get blanked in our recent form), and they thought it was actually impressive how many people would touch the ball with it moving downfield, sometimes gradually and sometimes on the break. And then taking them to watch a match with 5 total goals didn't hurt either.

But then of course I got really drunk and told them I'd put em on my tab if they came out to watch Levante with me at the same bar. They were also intrigued by the fact that in CL, clubs play teams from different countries which they didn't know occurred on a yearly basis. I guess taking them to watch the Levante match with 6 total goals just put a cherry on top. I swear, I spent probably $200 for both of those days, but these are 3 guys who will never say soccer is a sport for the gays ever again. As Prez Dubya would say, "Mission Accomplished".

Sorry for the insanely long post, I haven't posted anything in forever. :D
Visca Blaugrana!

"I smell treble."
- Wolverine (who is a Barca fan)

Balboa is a piece of shizz idiot. I'm just glad Wynalda is gone, but I would like to hope he wouldn't be doing ANY more footie commentaries.

Blah, I hate U.S. kits. They are usually really plain or just have too much shiza on them. The new one is really plan, it looks like a golfer's polo. Lame. They really need new designers.