Football Special Report: Chances of Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League – (Part 4)
Sergio Busquets’ job is to stay focused in the midfield and pass the ball on to Xavi Hernandez or the attacking midfielders, so that they can make the moves in scoring goals. Another thing that he does is something that normal
fans do not see. Sergio Busquets falls back in the defensive line up of Barcelona with Carlos Puyol, while both the wing backs and Gerard Pique move forward to help the team score goals.
Gerard Pique is often compared to the German legend Franz Beckenbauer. This is not only because of his great defensive skills, but also because the way he moves up and finishes with great technique. No one can forget how Pique
managed to score against Inter Milan in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi final. He scored the only goal of the match in the Nou Camp as the Catalans were busy breaking the defensive walls of Inter Milan. He made a move forward and actually
did a three sixty to get past Samuel Eto’o to score a goal that is considered to be one of the best goals scored by a defender.
With such a defender in the team, “a” Sergio Busquets is needed. Busquets moves back to make a defensive line with Carlos Puyol while Gerard Pique moves up front to help the team in the slow build up. Moreover, Busquets is one
of the only few players in Barcelona who have good aerial ability, and with Busquets at the back that blank is also very well filled as he helps them defend the goal which is guarded by the Spanish goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
Victor Valdes is not considered to be one of the best around, but he is definitely a good goalkeeper. He gets the job done with his great reflexes, and he can easily clear the ball to safety. The Spaniard became such an integral
part of Barcelona that he became the second choice goalkeeper for the Spaniards during the FIFA World Cup 2010.
This credit also went on to Sergio Busqeuts who was given a priority over many talented Spaniards and he was considered as a “first choice” in the Spanish team that won the FIFA World Cup 2010.
If there is one thing that the Catalan giants are lagging, that is definitely fitness and a left back. They badly need a good left back as the French sensation Eric Abidal is now very old and he cannot really move around the whole
field to help the team make moves and then fall back to help the full backs defend the goal. His replacement, Maxwell is definitely trying his best but he is simply not as good as Eric Abidal.
Even though Abidal is not really working out for the Catalan giants, the rest of the defensive line really helps the team protect the left flank and guards it as much as they can. However, it is not even the left back that is a
cause of concern to the Catalan giants.
The major problem that the Spanish giants are facing is the fitness. Most of the players were a part of the FIFA World Cup winning squad in South Africa. Xavi Hernandez is currently out because of fitness crisis. Lionel Messi was
also seen struggling with the ball, but his injury came as a blessing for the team and he is now back after a two week rest. Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique also suffered with a few injuries because of the “tiredness” factor. The Spanish players are simply tired
and they cannot cope up with the schedule that they have been handed with.
The Barcelona players have to play the UEFA Champions League along with the local competitions including the Spanish La Liga in which they are competing against the “special one” Jose Mourinho who is currently in charge of the
rival club Real Madrid. This is the basic reason why the Catalans do not really stand a full chance of winning the European Cup this season.
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