The compatible Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas – La Liga Debate
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-c34888 Alcantara has taken La Liga by storm with his genius in the middle of the pitch. He has earned a call-up to Spanish national team, making two appearances so far. The addition of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas meant that only one of the two would make
the starting eleven and the transfer was a vile expense. However, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola has proved quite the contrary in the club’s opening round of matches.
The rise of Alcantara was a worrying sign for Cesc Fabregas as he neared a return to Camp Nou after spending eight seasons away in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749. Son of the former Brazilian footballer and 1994 World Cup winner Mazinho made his first team debut in the 2008/09
campaign, but only last season did he feature regularly for Pep Guardiola, scoring three goals and assisting his teammates on two occasions.
Barca faithful were adamant that Barcelona don’t require Cesc, with Thiago fast developing into a phenomenon. The transfer was opposed on the grounds that Alcantara and Fabregas would be incompatible with each other. With Xavi showing no signs of ageing,
the 24-year-old would have been an expensive catch for the bench. Financial woes of the Catalan club are well documented and spending over twenty-five million Euros will only add to their woes, many argued.
Amidst such opposition, Guardiola did not budge from his desire of adding Fabregas to the club’s ranks. It has proven to be a masterstroke. After only one La Liga match, Fabregas looks at ease at Camp Nou and has gelled in well with his new (old) teammates.
Against Villarreal, Guardiola put all fears to rest as Fabregas and Alcantara both started the match.
Fabregas was deployed in an advanced role behind http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 at tip of the midfield diamond. Alcantara, on the other hand, was sent out to the right side of the field. The two combined for the first goal as Fabregas sent a sublime ball that pierced the
Villarreal defensive setup and freed the 20-year-old to open the scoring.
The pair improved as the match progressed. The Yellow Submarine fans saw their team being outplayed in all departments. Edging close to the end of the first half, Fabregas was in the middle of the action yet again; he etched his name on the score-sheet from
a Lionel Messi through ball.
After the break, Alcantara showed glimpses of his sublime potential, setting free http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alexis-Sánchez-c4979 one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Chilean winger did not waste the opportunity and duly opened his La Liga scoring account.
All in all, the two so called incompatible players were involved in four of the five goals that were scored on the night. La Liga resumes over the weekend after the international break and the two would be looking to reignite the partnership.
The duo has been incorporated to national side as well. They got a taste of La Roja action as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vicente-c36001 del Bosque and Pep Guardiola are lucky men
indeed. Few managers can afford to replace the likes of Xavi and Iniesta with the pedigree of Fabregas and Alcantara.
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