The Camp Nou will be the venue when Barcelona host Inter in the second-leg of the Champions League semi-final. In Milan, Inter were able to score a fantastic 3-1 win after trailing 1-0 against the European champions. One player who has been instrumental for the Nerazzurri in Europe is Wesley Sneijder yet the Dutch playmaker might miss the return leg in Spain due to injury.

While Inter will predictably sit back to soak Barca’s pressure the absence of Sneijder cannot be underestimated because he provides so much to the Nerazzurri in terms of vision, passing, keeping possession and assisting on goals. If he does indeed miss the clash then Inter will start with a disadvantage despite their 3-1 lead. It will be hard for the Italian club to contain Barca at the Camp Nou and Lionel Messi will likely want to erase memories of the bruising first-leg defeat.

Josep Guardiola will be depending on decisive duo Xavi Hernandez and Messi to lead the line and create scoring opportunities for their teammates. The one concern for Barca is the status of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and whether he can play the full 90 minutes as he appeared lacking in fitness when the two sides met in Milan. Ibrahimovic did feature and actually scored against Xerez in la Liga but Inter are a much more dangerous team with quality strikers such as Diego Milito and former Barca hero Samuel Eto’o.

The main battles will be between Guardiola and Jose Mourinho off the pitch as their tactics and the choice of players will play a major role in the outcome of the match and consequently deciding who advances to the final to be played in Madrid. Another battle will be fought in the middle of the field with Xavi aiming to orchestrate Barca’s attacks and maintaining the tempo he desires and deems suitable to the Catalans. To counter the supreme Xavi, Mourinho will entrust his midfielders with restricting the space available for the Spaniard and the one player who will be charged with leading the midfield for Inter is Esteban Cambiasso. Winning the midfield battle will be key to the outcome of the match as Xavi’s passes usually pave the way for Barca’s attackers to score goal.

Inter’s goalkeeper Julio Cesar must return to his form or at least perform close to his best if Barca are to be deterred. The Brazilian custodian has been below par in recent matches and his drop in level will hurt Inter considering they will have to defend for a considerable portion of the match. It will be interesting to see how Mourinho will start the match and the instructions he will give to his team while the performances of both Xavi and Messi will determine to a large extent how effective Barcelona will be and whether they will overturn the deficit to play in Madrid.

At the moment the answer would most likely be a resounding “Yes” considering Lionel Messi’s torrid scoring run and his great form. However, one would only need to look at Argentina’s matches to see how the talented Messi who is widely regarded as the best player in the world becomes just another good player. In fact the Barcelona version of the player can be considered as unplayable and near impossible to stop while the Messi who plays for Argentina is still a quality player but one who can be somewhat restricted.

Messi’s form for Barca puts him alongside some of the best players in the world in the last two decades including Zinedine Zidane and the Brazilian Ronaldo (when healthy and at his peak). Messi will surpass both and perhaps be considered one of the best ever if he can lift the World Cup trophy in South Africa 2010. At the tender age of 22 he has already won the Spanish la Liga and the Champions League not to mention the historic sweep of all titles available the last campaign. This is in itself a great achievement which cannot be underestimated but for him to be considered amongst the best ever, Messi must win the World Cup with Argentina.

This season Messi has already scored more goals than he did last season in all competitions and his 27 goals in la Liga are more than the 23 he managed last season in the domestic league. Messi’s form with Barca does not translate to his caps with Argentina where his performances are deemed as less impressive and not as great. The main reason is the fact Barca have a better structured team with more talented players and a vastly superior coach in Josep Guardiola. Diego Maradona might be one of the best players to ever grace the football field but he was never admired for his character and his limited coaching skills leave a lot to be desired. Guardiola took over as a young coach but proved he had the tactical knowledge but more importantly he knew how best to use Messi and the current talent at his disposal. The fact Guardiola spent the majority of his career at the Camp Nou helps as well while Maradona had limited coaching experience prior to taking over Argentina and has shown he is clueless when it comes to bringing the best out of Messi.

Argentina have quality players and are not a bad team but Maradona has failed to surround Messi with the right players and has not been able to employ the proper system which turns Messi into the focal point in the national team. In Barcelona Messi can rely on the talented and underrated Xavi Hernandez to thread in pinpointed passes and provide incisive assists. Xavi was one of the main architects behind the triumph over Real Madrid and he is by far one of the most reliable and effective midfielders in the world. Messi also has the likes of Andres Iniesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Daniel Alves who provide ample support in terms of passing, assists and diversion to free up the Argentine genius and give him more space to roam freely and operate.

The answer to the question why Barca’s Messi performs much better than the Messi who represents Argentina could be simply down to the one way to stop the young star: Hire Maradona and make sure Messi is not surrounded by the appropriate squad. Could the main obstacle preventing Messi’s rise to claim the crown of one of the best ever be none other than Maradona (a former great and the current Argentina coach)? Some believe Maradona’s ego and desire to safeguard his status as Argentina’s best ever is behind Messi’s shortcomings while others simply attribute this to Maradona’s utter incompetence as a tactician.

Will Messi carry Argentina all the way to the final and help his country claim a third World Cup title to cement himself as not just this generation’s best player but one of the best ever to play in the history of the game? Only time will tell and barring any injury Messi has about three chances (World Cup 2010, World Cup 2014 and World Cup 2018).

Last weekend’s defeat was inevitable given the Catalans were likely to suffer a loss sooner or later with the congested fixture list. The main concern was whether Barcelona would be able to recover after succumbing to Atletico Madrid or if the loss would signal the beginning of a mid-season slump.

Barca’s answer was emphatic as the players ensured the club returned to winning ways and in impressive manner. Barca’s players dismantled the opposition while hitting the back of the net on four occasions signalling their intent to not just retain their la Liga title but to do so with style.

Barcelona have so many weapons to simply yield after a single defeat but to any critic the manner with which the club responded must have left all those doubting the squad’s abilities in disbelief. Josep Guardiola made sure the players remained focused and put behind their first la Liga defeat in order to regroup and achieve victory.

Earlier today Barca achieved a precious 1-1 away draw in the Champions League which gives them the upper hand in the tie against Stuttgart. A win this coming weekend against Malaga at the Camp Nou will surely show the defeat to Real Madrid’s city rivals was a mere blip in an otherwise positive season. In January the Copa del Rey loss was avenged with a crushing victory over Sevilla to show the players were simply unlucky and perhaps taking matters lightly in certain matches. After losing to Ateltico in la Liga, Barca once again reacted in the correct manner to emphatically win their following match. On the long run Guardiola has the suitable players to respond to any drop in form. He can also count on the best player in the world in the shape of Lionel Messi.

Despite the return to winning ways, Guardiola must be concerned with Real Madrid’s strong surge and the fact Los Galacticos are a mere two points behind in the standings. The clash between the two sides might actually determine the destination of the title this season. In the meantime supporters of Barca and even football fans in general ought to enjoy the entertaining displays put on by the club’s players. Messi often glides and weaves his way through a number of defenders while talented Spaniards Xavi and Andres Iniesta complete the core of a spectacular midfield. The embarrassment of wealth at the Camp Nou is perhaps best exemplified by how Frenchman Thierry Henry cannot even nail a starring role in Guardiola’s lineup.

The Blaugrana continued their steady march towards retaining la Liga title after defeating Getafe 2-1 at the Camp Nou. The Catalans had two players sent-off as Gerard Pique received his marching orders after 26 minutes with the score 1-0 in Barca’s favour.

The star for the Barca side was the magical Lionel Messi who scored the opening goal and assisted on the second one as he made sure Getafe could not take advantage of Barca’s numerical inferiority. The home team conceded a late penalty converted by Roberto Soldado after Rafael Marquez was sent-off. The league table shows Barca have won a stunning 17 out 21 matches played without suffering a single defeat.

The Catalans are clearly one of the best teams in Spain and across Europe. It could be argued the side assembled under the guidance of Josep Guardiola is one of the best in the last 20 years. The Real Madrid team which was led by Zinedine Zidane to Champions League glory and the Milan team which dismantled Barca 4-0 in the 1990s are perhaps the two other contenders for such an honour (Manchester United treble winning team was also special).

There is no doubting the abundance of talent in the Barca team with Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all capable of walking straight into any of the European elite club’s starting lineup and making a telling contribution.

It looks unlikely that Real Madrid can halt Barca’s path to maintaining the la Liga title in the Catalan city. Perhaps a victory for Los Galacticos when the two teams meet in Madrid can give hope for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka to win the league title in their first season in Spain. If Barca do retain both the la Liga and the Champions League titles then this team could be considered as one of the best ever in the history of club football. Can anyone argue with that notion considering the quality and flair being displayed by the side while winning in such a convincing manner?

Barcelona have yet to suffer a defeat in la Liga and will complete half of their season’s fixtures this weekend. In 18 matches played, the Catalans have won a remarkable 14 matches and drawn the remaining four games. Barca have the best defensive record with a mere 10 goals conceded and have scored a league high 46 goals.

A quick glance shows Barca have really no glaring weaknesses and if there are any minor deficiencies then the talent of Lionel Messi, the class of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, the leadership of Carles Puyol and the contribution of the others will likely compensate for it. The club exited from the Copa del Rey after losing on aggregate to Sevilla (1-2 loss in the Camp Nou followed by a 1-0 win in Sevilla) but took revenge with a 4-0 hammering of the Sevillistas in la Liga. 

The Catalans also lost once in the Champions League to Rubin Kazan so obviously they are not immune to dropping the occasional match but the question remains whether they can finish the league season without a defeat.  If there are no major injuries (particularly to Messi) and everything goes as expected then it would not be shocking to see the club end the season without suffering a single defeat. It will also depend on whether the Coach Josep Guardiola rests some of his stars during the remaining fixtures of the season. It is quite difficult to accomplish such a feat but who can argue against the quality of this entertaining side?

The world’s best player  ensured Barca avenged the Coppa del Rey exit at the hands of Sevilla when he scored two goals in the 4-0 rout of the Rojiblancos. Lionel Messi not only helped the Catalan club thump Sevilla but also made sure the lead over Real Madrid got extended to a comfortable five points. Along the way Messi has reached another landmark in Barcelona history and made sure his name will be forever etched in the club’s folklore. He became the youngest player in the club’s prestigious history to reach 100 goals.

The humble Messi did not take the opportunity to gloat about his achievement but rather warned the season is still young with many games to be played and insisting it is too early to start celebrating. His maturity and focus are exemplary and the Coach Josep Guardiola must be counting his lucky stars for having such a talented player who is concentrated on achieving glory for the club as opposed to playing for personal achievements. Messi has actually scored 101 goals in 188 appearances for the club, including a remarkable 68 league goals in 124 matches.

Messi has scored 14 goals and assisted on six others in just 15 league matches while his totals for the season are 21 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions. More importantly, Messi led Barca to winning all six trophies in 2009 (La Liga, Copa del Rey, European Champions League, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA World Club Cup) in a historic and amazing feat unmatched by any other European club. Messi also had the honour of scoring Barca’s 5000th goal La Liga goal in February 2009 against Racing Santander.

Barca will be challenging for trophies for many seasons to come as long as the 22-year-old Argentine star remains with the club and does not suffer any injuries. If he remains with the club for several years then he will probably be considered Barca’s best player ever. Some pundits and fans are already calling him Barca’s best ever. For now, Messi is satisfied with playing his part in bringing trophies to the club.

It is mouth-watering just to imagine a match featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema taking on an opposing team which includes Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Xavi Hernandez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to name just a few.

The dream of many football fanatics has come true following a spending frenzy by Los Blancos which included the record signing of Portuguese Ronaldo from Manchester United. The club obviously made other big name signings and also fortified its defense with the hope of challenging the Catalan club for honours both in Spain and Europe.

Barca did not hold back and retaliated by capturing Inter’s Ibrahimovic though that came at a steep price. Inter received star striker Samuel Eto’o in return in addition to a hefty payment for the Nerazzurri. The proud Catalan club still has plenty of weapons upfront besides the famous names mentioned above. Andres Iniesta has become an integral cog in the team’s free-flowing approach and often contributes with decisive balls from midfield while young striker Bojan Krkic is beginning to emerge as a threat. Krkic’s playing time will still be limited with the presence of Henry and Ibrahimovic yet he is sure to get regular cameo appearances under Coach Josep Guardiola’s stewardship.

Barca’s strengths are not limited to the frightening forward lineup or the midfield’s flair and solidity but also the defense’s compactness under the leadership of Carles Puyol. While Xavi and Iniesta supply the attackers with the ammunition to score goals, the energetic Yaya Toure supports the defense and covers the space left by the midfielders roaming forward. Captain Puyol marshals the defense and has found an able deputy in the form of Gerard Pique.

As for Los Galacticos, Kaka and Ronaldo pull the strings from midfield and move forward to support Captain Raul and French striker Karim Benzema. Behind them former Liverpool star Alonso ensures the team ticks like a well-oiled machine while Mahamadou Diarra recovers plenty of balls, breaks up opposition moves and offers cover for the defense. Iker Casillas remains a trustworthy goalkeeper between the posts and often performs incredible saves while Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa were brought in to strengthen the defensive line.

Real Madrid was not able to lure French International and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery leaving club President Florentino Perez visibly disappointed. While Barcelona appears to be more of a solid, free-flowing and united team, Los Blancos have yet to mesh together and are still reliant on individual talents and flashes of brilliance from stars such as Kaka.

So the question for La Liga and all football fans is probably best summed up in this question: Would you pick a cohesive yet very talented team like Barca or will you bet on Real Madrid winning titles through the contributions of the individual superstars? It is Barca’s impressive talent working for the collective good in a face-off with Real’s awfully talented superstars who are still relying on their skills to gel into a successful team.

Both Kaka and Ronaldo achieved success with their previous clubs but they have not played together prior to this season and Los Blancos have not won in Europe for a long time. On the other hand, Barca have won a historic treble last season and probably have the best player in the world at the moment in the shape of Leo Messi.