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Let's get the obvious out of the way early: Leo Messi is a genius with the ball at his feet. A second-half hat-trick against Valencia proved this - as if there were any doubters. Everything that Barcelona had for the visitors to Camp Nou on Sunday night went through the Argentinian, who enjoyed free reign when VCF went down to ten men.
Lionel Messi celebrates
©Getty Images
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Truth be told, Barça had struggled in the first half. There are still some nagging doubts about certain areas of the team, which Messi's rapid-fire treble will have glossed over to some degree. The 2009/2010 squad would not be the first to win the title with a slightly off-colour line-up, and Messi is certainly resilient enough to injury and consistent in his goalscoring to take Barcelona all the way, but a few issues need to be addressed.
Starting at the back, Pep Guardiola's defensive cover looks weak. This is mostly to the manager's credit in my opinion, as he has put together a starting back four that have great understanding and bags of experience playing as a unit. When fit, the Barça back four is the best in the league. When one of the established quartet is left out, then they have to bring in Maxwell...
Thierry Henry was the most incisive of partners for Messi upon introduction as a substitute, and Bojan just doesn't look as if he will break through in the way that was expected of him. Henry was perhaps flattered by coming on fresh for the second half and facing ten men for the majority of the 45 minutes, but he was certainly more effective than Bojan -who should really go out on loan for some of next season to get some playing time under his belt.
The most positive sign from the game was for the league as a whole. The third placed team in La Liga outshone the title contenders in the first half and too the game to their opponents, and Barcelona came back for a popular victory in an entertaining match. At a time when European failure is casting doubts over the quality of the league, the game provided something for the fans and a showcase performance from Messi that everyone will be talking about on Monday morning. For half an hour at least, Messi was unstoppable and undeniably the best player in the world.
Comments
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Posted by blaze on 03/15/2010
pep's tactics have cracks in them i know,he is a manager destined for gratness and rotating your back-line is a difficult job as they are your last line of defense so for him not to go about bringing understanding to our backline would undermine him as a coach.carpet soccer will be our downfall if we do not shoot more often and we are getting it all wrong by playing our corner kicks short-though we have short players they should dedicate more time to practising set pieces and also defending them.
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Posted by Scott Wolf on 03/15/2010
My God,what more do Barca fans want?Guardiola's defensive cover looks weak?!Are you kidding me?This team is well on its way to defending its European title,has only lost 1 domestic game all year,has given up the fewest goals so far this year,still plays the most radiant football in Europe,and,aside from the bogus goal differential,are clearly a deeper and more cohesive unit than Real Madrid.Barcelona will win La Liga in a walk again this year.It is a privilege to watch this team week in and week out.
Can't wait until next month when we smoke Madrid for the fourth time in a row!
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Posted by Anonymous on 03/16/2010
Barcalona's defence is top notch and has depth Puyol,Milito,Pique,Abidal and Alves are all world class. Márquez, Maxwell are great for back-up players. Barcalona's midfield is easily one of the best in the world if not the best Xavi and Iniesta are the biggest work horses
Sure Bojan is not amazing and Henry is getting abit past his used by date. But Messi, Ibrahimovic and Pedro do a good job. I think Barcalona is in need of a good striker in the summer however.
I agree when you look at it Barcalona is still performing amazingly. They are the best team to watch, there are no individuals they attack as a unit and defend as a unit. I think it is natural for fans to want the best teams to crumble. But I know I would rather see Barcalona keep topping the tables, as long as they keep entertaing myself and fans across the world with their majestic football.
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Posted by Justin Lund on 03/16/2010
Barcalona's defence is top notch and has depth Puyol,Milito,Pique,Abidal and Alves are all world class. Márquez, Maxwell are great for back-up players. Barcalona's midfield is easily one of the best in the world if not the best Xavi and Iniesta are the biggest work horses
Sure Bojan is not amazing and Henry is getting abit past his used by date. But Messi, Ibrahimovic and Pedro do a good job. I think Barcalona is in need of a good striker in the summer however.
I agree when you look at it Barcalona is still performing amazingly. They are the best team to watch, there are no individuals they attack as a unit and defend as a unit. I think it is natural for fans to want the best teams to crumble. But I know I would rather see Barcalona keep topping the tables, as long as they keep entertaing myself and fans across the world with their majestic football.
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Posted by Rigo Amador on 03/16/2010
I think that barcelona is still amazing. At the moment, they might not be playing to their full potential, but all great teams do. No one can talk bad about Barca. They are simply the best.
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Posted by anonymous on 03/16/2010
I think that a Henry's performance highlights an important point. When Ibra is playing up top he is functioning too much like a static point man and as such he is limiting the movement flow of the attack. This may still just be because this is his first season at barca (Henry's first also had some disappointments). Henry on the other hand has a feel for the flow, can give proper delivery, and also move more smoothly to the other attacking positions, which allows Messi to position himself up top. Also, the reason that Henry may not have had such good form during the rest of the season probably has to do with the fact that both he and Ibra fill the same role within the barca offense.
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Posted by azhar on 03/16/2010
how come people compare messi with rooney or ronaldo?the class that was on display in the game against valencia quite easily dwarfs the numbers (of goals_) of rooney and higuain........
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Posted by Anonymous on 03/16/2010
for d defenders are okay u people should stop saying nonsense,berca 4 life
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Posted by Anonymous on 03/17/2010
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Posted by Anonymous on 03/17/2010
soccer suck ASS!!!!!!!! you guy that read this have no life. you need to get pussy you fucking nerds. paras los come mieardas que no saben ablar ingles soccer no sirbe es una mierda sun una partia de come pingas par de patos maricones embes de estar leyendo esto lo que tienen que aser es cojer BOLLO!!!!!! o pinga but get a fucking life you dorks.
-ashley-
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Posted by Richard Zaw Min on 03/18/2010
I am from Myanmar ( Burma ) and Great to see Barcelona!!!! Great team on the world and more stronger than any other team.
Wishes success in Champion again in this year.
Best Regards
Richard Zaw Min
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Posted by Anonymous on 03/21/2010
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Posted by Kofi O. on 03/23/2010
Glad this was brought to light. Zaragoza scored two goals off of identical long balls. Although we scored 4 on'em, Barca looks to have suffered from a weak back line since Yaya Toure was subbed. Something for Pep to examine. Neither, Arsenal, Man U, nor Inter will be so kind.
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Posted by JOHN BAPTIST OGONY on 03/24/2010
'MORE THAN A CLUB'
It's perverse to rate the likes of Wayne Rooney in the same bracket as Messi. For goodness sake,who does not see the former as a less talented hard-worker who thrives on force? It would be okay to compare Rooney to Drogda,but not even to Fernando Torres. The English press can hype,but we know who Rooney actually is.
I don't agree with some pundits who assert that Barca is crumbling! Much as we are not at our best compared to last season, we still play the best football in the World and dancing past many teams in both La Liga and Champs League. Our defending against Zaragoza was not really good, but when our team is on form,no attack whatever can break us down. Rem: Barca beat Man U with a make-shift defence in last year's final,which team would do that?
We wait to teach Arsenal a footballing lesson over the two-legs,it's just a matter of time that the team gels for the rest of Europe to catch flue. WE ARE MORE THAN A CLUB- BARCA 4 LIFE!!!!!
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Posted by Mununga on 03/26/2010
Strength does not come from winning. A team's struggle develop the players' strengths. When the team go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. And the same applies to FC BARCELONA in all the competitions they are involved in...Am A CATALAN FOR LIFE IF LOSE OR NOT...CAUSE WE SIMPLY THE BEST "FC BARCELONA" YOU ROCK!!!!
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Posted by Omotayo on 03/27/2010
Misse is the best player in the world
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Posted by m k on 03/28/2010
to be honest i have to say that real madrid may not be the best and consistent team in the la lega at the moment, but that is not enough of a reason to say that they are nothing compared to barcelona. barcelonas team has been top notch for the last 10 years. that i can say is fact. but for people to expect real madrid to take the champions league and the la lega in the same year after getting a new squad is unrealistic. the squad may be amazing, but it has not yet had enough experience with each other to be as coherent as barcelonas. also, madrid has not had a consistent manager for the past 7 years or so. the team is still amazing, and is all in all the best in the world. it has 9 champions league titles and still competes with the most la lega titles to date. you cannot argue that this team has yet to show its best, oh yeah... and all you barcelona fans out there, hehe forget about the la lega this year,the thrashing your gonna get at the galacticos stadium will be one to remember
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Posted by m k on 03/28/2010
oh yeah, and omatayo, its messi not misse...
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Posted by Anonymous on 03/31/2010
Sam is the best, followed closely by sexy marie>
FC Barca will beat gooners tonight, 2-0.
No contest, Messi makes Van Persie look like an old lady on the pitch.
CLUNGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Posted by Chudyrock on 04/01/2010
You knwo that ball on mesi's leg is lik your life in the hand of GOD cuz he doeth with it what so ever he wishes.
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Posted by Anonymous on 04/01/2010
Barca can still win arsenal
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Posted by Mubarak on 04/01/2010
Barca can still win arsenal
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Posted by Mubarak on 04/01/2010
Barca can still win arsenal
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Posted by lubangakene fred on 04/06/2010
i think this match is just going to do the work of seperating,boys from men,africa from europe and may be footballers from ball players and lastly skill and !makanikas!
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Posted by Joshua Kiuma on 04/20/2010
Barca for life. cant wait for destruction of Internationale
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Posted by Darin Selecao 5 on 05/14/2010
Messi is a joke...and this years world cup will prove just that
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Posted by Abdullahi on 05/16/2010
Messi is my number 1 foot ball wizard i love him so much.i wil like to urge him to disclame the rumour of his Real madirid move which is circulating the wave.i wil like him to know me in person or via phono,with this line...08060528013 thank you so much.
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Posted by mu-childo on 07/27/2010
viva noucamp,viva barcelona, viva all barca fans...wishin u all success in the coming season..lets be ready for being champion again..
barca 4 eva
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Posted by mu-childo on 07/27/2010
viva noucamp,viva barcelona, viva all barca fans...wishin u all success in the coming season..lets be ready for being champion again..
barca 4 eva
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Posted by roy on 08/08/2010
am a nigerian n a barcelona fan/addict n all i can say is barca will do much better than last season n season b4 last joined together..so anybody thinkin otherwise should really re-think cos he/she is goin 2 get a real heart break in d comin season.......dont b like jose mourihno,stay alive
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Posted by roy on 08/08/2010
am a nigerian n a barcelona fan/addict n all i can say is barca will do much better than last season n season b4 last joined together..so anybody thinkin otherwise should really re-think cos he/she is goin 2 get a real heart break in d comin season.......dont b like jose mourihno,stay alive
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Posted by roy on 08/08/2010
am a nigerian n a barcelona fan/addict n all i can say is barca will do much better than last season n season b4 last joined together..so anybody thinkin otherwise should really re-think cos he/she is goin 2 get a real heart break in d comin season.......dont b like jose mourihno,stay alive
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Posted by nelly on 08/09/2010
They is no doubt dat barcelona is more than a club.Am a real born Barcelona fans,wit love and adore.yeah d four back at times are weak,and pepG,gat 2 do sumtin bout it dis season,cuz Jose Mourihno is not a coach of loosing........But all the same;Barcelona is the d best club in da world..And i dont tink barcelona is scared of Real Madrid or Mourihno.We are the best team in europe,best club in d world,and also the best player's in the world.Barca 4life..........
Posted by Joseph on 08/10/2010
i love messi and other barca players especially Andres Iniesta. Barca should forget about Cesc Fabregas for now and wait until next 2season, in order not to cause overloading of stars in the bench.
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About
Hola! I am Francesc Tomas. Barcelona is my passion and home-town team. I consider myself lucky to have regularly attended matches at the Camp Nou since the early 1980s. My cousin played for the Barça youth academy, sharing the team with Don Andres Iniesta, which gave me a clear inside view of how our club works behind the scenes. I am also the founder, editor and columnist at Barcablog.com.
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