Marc Bartra

Well.. Atleast we have Puyol back 3 weeks without Barta should be fine.

Puyol probably wont go 3 weeks without being injured again so we'll see.

It's an elongation. No worries, he'll be back soon.

What I meant more is atleast we have Puyol AND Pique it sucks to see him injured but at this moment I'm glad we have a better defense than Mascherano - Song.

We have backup at least... Why are we and Arsenal as well getting so many damn injuries. Puyol cannot play every single game but probably one each week. Don't want him to play in CL on Wednesday... Scared he will get injuried again...

So, what's your opinion on Bartra after these two games vs. the best team in the world?

Tito did not give him minutes in the season and just threw him in on the most important match of the season expecting him to do good without preparation, he has the potential but needs to start against a smaller team that doesn't attack us every three minutes.

My opinion is his improved from the first leg, but still no where ready to step up. Obviously still give him time and see how he develops, he has the qualities, but it seems his mentality needs to be stronger and less mistakes.

Question, we had someone named Muninea a CB I think a while back that were about to get promoted, what happened to him?

BarcaLearning wrote:My opinion is his improved from the first leg, but still no where ready to step up. Obviously still give him time and see how he develops, he has the qualities, but it seems his mentality needs to be stronger and less mistakes.

Question, we had someone named Muninea a CB I think a while back that were about to get promoted, what happened to him?

Which mistakes made Bartra...?
I think he did good in both games. I know him, and I know he is much better with the ball than he has shown, because he is just wonderful with the ball and he was shaky and cleared a lot in both games, clearly because he was nervous and felt the pressure. He will improve greatly with 10+ games in that department. On the defensive end, what you see it's what you get. He has a weak tackling, but is good in the air and blocking shots. Quite fast.

Muniesa was a great prospect but injuries have probably ended his career at top level. 2 torn ACL in a few years.

Keep him, for his age he has been good. If he is trained well he has the possibility to become either a very good or a world class defender in the future.

free_cat wrote:

BarcaLearning wrote:My opinion is his improved from the first leg, but still no where ready to step up. Obviously still give him time and see how he develops, he has the qualities, but it seems his mentality needs to be stronger and less mistakes.

Question, we had someone named Muninea a CB I think a while back that were about to get promoted, what happened to him?

Which mistakes made Bartra...?
I think he did good in both games. I know him, and I know he is much better with the ball than he has shown, because he is just wonderful with the ball and he was shaky and cleared a lot in both games, clearly because he was nervous and felt the pressure. He will improve greatly with 10+ games in that department. On the defensive end, what you see it's what you get. He has a weak tackling, but is good in the air and blocking shots. Quite fast.

Muniesa was a great prospect but injuries have probably ended his career at top level. 2 torn ACL in a few years.

Thx for that and I truly hope that u r right. But to be a top CB at Barca, u would have to be somewhere near what Varane is doing for Real now....so hopefully he can really continue and gain to that level....otherwise in the meantime, we need to sign a CB or hope that the others recover and come back strong.

Good rotation player for Pique IMO. He needed more time on the pitch before heading into this match. Good future prospect for sure!

He played fairly well yesterday, he hesitated in the first minutes but you could see the way he started gaining confidence as minutes passed, even attempting to get out of his own half with the ball at his feet.

I would keep him as my 4th choice CB, behind WC CB that we will hopefully get in the summer, Pique and Puyol/Abidal.

If we keep Puyol, Bartra should definitely be above him in the pecking order. Puyol is finished.

I don't know how you train your defenders but it seems like passing and ball control took priority over defensive capabilities. Furthermore i am highly against the idea of starting teenage Cb's at the highest lvl, precisely because they are so far away from the finished product.

I think it was highly irresponsible to start him considering your defensive system was already in shambles and he would only become a burden on an already overwhelmed Pique. Considering Puyol's age preventive measures should have been taking if the worst came, considering that he barely played or had time to get used to high lvl football or learn first hand under Puyol himself.

He is not a teenager though, he is 22, and he didn't put more burden on Pique IMO. He was ok in both games. If anything, Alves/Alba/Adriano put burden on all the defence with their bad performances vs. Bayern.

Ah so he is a bit older, got confused as he hardly looks like he has physically matured.

Imo he did put allot of burden on Pique because he is inexperienced so it naturally becomes Pique's job to constantly tell him what to do and where to do to it. I do think he has potential but he's hardly a finished product, he really needs to go under radical defensive training and not to mention physical training.

He is 22 and he hardly has been exposed at the elite lvl, a centerback's most valuable attribute is experience. The longer he is held back the fewer the chance he has of actually developing into a decent Cb.

Batra will be better being loaned out,he is already 22 and is far from being a finished product, Varane who is only 19 is much better than him,not every La Masia Product will be a star, maybe 1 in 50 will make it to the elite level.

tonykross wrote:Batra will be better being loaned out,he is already 22 and is far from being a finished product, Varane who is only 19 is much better than him,not every La Masia Product will be a star, maybe 1 in 50 will make it to the elite level.

Varane is actually 20, so it's only 2 years apart, and a player's development is far from lineal.
Only think Varane has clearly on Bartra is his incredible physique (speed, quickness and height). That aside, they are pretty equal, and Bartra is actually better with the ball.

How is Batra better with the ball when he kept losing possession to the opposition? I'm sorry to say that Varane is much better for a defender.Batra is average at best.we should stop hyping our Masia products if we want to keep competing with the best in Europe.we were completely destroyed and humiliated by Bayern.

I've not seen any La masia defender who has potential,may Bagnack.

tonykross wrote:How is Batra better with the ball when he kept losing possession to the opposition? I'm sorry to say that Varane is much better for a defender.Batra is average at best.we should stop hyping our Masia products if we want to keep competing with the best in Europe.we were completely destroyed and humiliated by Bayern.

If you judge him for the Bayern games it would appear he is not great with the ball, I agree. But I've seen him play 40+ games, and I can tell you he is a monster with the ball. He was just lacking confidence.
Being humbled by Bayern and hyping or not our Masia players are completely unrelated bro.
I agree that Varane is better than Bartra, but not twice the player or anything, Varane has made his share of mistakes and has been helped a lot by refs also. Mostly Varane's freakish physique sets them apart in terms of potential.

I watched Batra and Muniesa in the segunda and there were nothing special. Barca B conceded a lot of goals last year and this year is even worse.

Complaints about starting him...spoken as if we had other options.

He did alright for his lack of games through out the year and got a round of applause which I felt was derserved. Didnt shame himself at all.

I just gotta ask when will people learn its hardly ever individuals fault, its a team game and the team deserves blame and credit. Nearly all individual errors have a bigger picture which is team related.

He gave the ball away? Well yeah obviously, he is a player who hasnt been used much and therefore lacks some sharpness plus was playing in a team (that word again) who clearly lacked the organisation and application of principles needed.

With Puyol I think he recently just signed a 3 year contract so Im sure he will be important. Hes still got it I think if he gets back to his best which is always does I dont believe we extended him just so he can be a backup.

My complaints are mainly due to the fact that it was a well known that the team has limited options at Cb and yet Barta barely played at all this season.