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).

The titans of Spanish football will face off next weekend at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in the traditional El Classico which will carry an even greater importance this time because it could decide the league title’s destination. The two clubs are tied on top of la Liga with the same number of points but Los Galacticos are one goal ahead in terms of the goals scored and conceded differential.

Barca have the stronger defensive line while the hosts who are led by record signing Cristiano Ronaldo have the better offensive record. While some might see this clash as a duel between Ronaldo and Barca’s Lionel Messi, this is far from the accurate truth as Los Galacticos have Gonzalo Higuain in their ranks and he is the club’s top scorer with 23 goals to Ronaldo’s 17. In Barca’s case Messi might be the star who is on a level above everyone else but his teammates have a crucial role and their contribution cannot be underestimated. Messi might be the top scorer in la Liga with a stunning ratio of 26 goals in 27 matches and he has provided 9 assists, but midfielder Xavi Hernandez and full-back Daniel Alves have both given 7 assists this season. Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has contributed 15 league goals including the important winner in the match between the two earlier this season.

Real Madrid have won all 15 of their home games so how will Barca cope with that and can they be the first to at least force a draw in Madrid? One key element for Barca will be how long their defenders can hold Real Madrid’s offensive weapons, particularly Ronaldo, in check. The responsibility will fall on the shoulders of club captain Carles Puyol who will have to lead the back-line by example and keep an eye on not just  on goal scorers Ronaldo and Higuain, but also be aware of the danger posed by Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo and Rafael Van der Vaart who all have at least 5 assists or more.

On the other hand, Los Galacticos will rely on home court advantage having won all their games at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in la Liga as well as the marquee players mentioned above. In addition, the Real Madrid defenders will also play a massive role since they will have to contain not just Messi but Swedish striker Ibrahimovic, midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta among others. This is shaping up into a clash of epic proportions and the supporters of the beautiful game will be hoping for a spectacle filled with goals and punctuated by fair play.

For the fans of either club the focus will be on achieving victory in order to push ahead with the drive for the Spanish title. Barca would like to retain their crown while Real Madrid are hoping to justify all their spending which reached stratospheric proportions. To some it might be  just about Ronaldo versus Messi but who will be celebrating at the end of the match could very well depend on the contribution of their teammates.

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?

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.

Despite scoring a multitude of important goals, Eto'o is on his way out of Barcelona

Everyday in High School, I would come in early to discuss football with my friend Ron. On a particularly slow day in the footballing world, Ron declared “There is no loyalty in soccer!” A statement that was quickly becoming fact rather than opinion. However, I was in an argumentative mood, and back in 2003 there was still a glimmer of hope, that for a select few in the soccer profession the word loyalty meant more than serving the highest bidder. Carlos Tevez had pledged himself to Boca Juniors, Wayne Rooney was still playing for his childhood club, Everton, and Joaquin was rejecting offers from Madrid to stay with Betis. So I decided to press the issue . “Are you serious!” I scoffed while gesturing wildly(Probably in a subconscious attempt to compensate for the fact that in reality, I completely agreed with Ron and felt ridiculous defending such an obviously absurd position) Somehow, I managed to appear the victor in our little debate, but in my head I knew who was correct.

Fast forward to today’s soccer landscape and Ron’s statement would be looked at as a truism. A given that only the most stubborn and unaware of fans would dare challenge. Despite the acceptance of such a climate on the part of most fans(myself included), owners, and players, football has somehow managed to disgust even the most cynical of fans with Barcelona’s impending transfer of Samuel Eto’o.

Eto’os departure from the Camp Nou is nauseating even when compared to the most controversial of transfers because it lacks even the most selfish of motivations. When Figo left Barcelona for Real Madrid, he did it for a bigger payday. Rooney dropped Everton for a chance to win the Champion’s and Premier League Crowns. Ronaldo came to Milan only years after playing for their fiercest rival, Internazionale, and did so only to resuscitate a dying career. However, as Barca prepare to ship Eto’o and close to 60 million Euros in exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they are doing so for very little in return, relatively speaking.

In the past five years, Eto’o has scored over a hundred goals for Barcelona in La Liga. More importantly Eto’o is a big time player. In the past season he scored against four of the top five teams in La Liga, including the game winning goal against Real Madrid, Barcelona’s biggest threat to the title. Eto’o improved upon his impressive tally this season with the decisive strike in the Champion’s League Final against Manchester United, helping make Barcelona the first treble winning side in Spanish football history. In exchange for throwing Eto’o out the door, Barcelona will receive Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a talented player, but more importantly, a notorious big game choke. A prime example of Ibrahimovic’s inability to perform on the grand stage came against the very same side that Eto’o managed to score against in the final, Manchester United. He was blanked by Manchester United over two legs, a period of 180 minutes, in the round of 16 in the Champion’s League. He failed to even register a shot on target in those two games. In fact, Ibrahimovic managed only one goal in seven games in the Champion’s League. Those quick to defend Barcelona will certainly site Samuel’s behavioral problems, but Zlatan is not without his own (See here). More troubling than the lack of motive for the transfer is Barcelona’s willingness to admit it. In a recent interview, Pep Guardiola said that Eto’os departure is the sole result of a “feeling”! A player of Eto’s caliber and output can only feel disrespected by such comments.

So while the whole world expresses outrage, and rightly so, over Real Madrid’s exuberant spending in times of economic crisis. Lets not forget that it is this type of mistreatment that presents the biggest blemish on the “not so” beautiful game.

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