Barça vs. Bayern

I think even in our "bad" form, opposing teams still fear us. This team earned that.

I think we should still have the mental edge. We need to get Barta in rhythm though and rest Messi in league games. If he re-injures his leg then we are screwed.

I think the obvious as everyone, and the same old story all tournament long...we NEED to try to end this series in the first leg. Even a 1-0 is fine, we just need to stop giving up goals.

I also believe last time Dortmund played Real Madrid, was the easiest time to play them. They were getting bad results left and right in La Liga and were having problems with Mou. Now they are clicking, and full of confidence. Dortmund will have to hope they can perform the impossible yet again and get the better of those a-holes two more times. Dortmund, please dont screw up.

As some of you may know,I support Bayern outside of La Liga so this is not good news to me.Would have much preferred the other two sides.
That being said Bayern are just incredible.From back to front.But Kroos is a big miss for them.He could have been a real danger.
The danger men are Ribery and Muller.Ribery has been sensational this season and Muller is a silent assassin.Mandzukic not playing is a blessing as he has been a revelation for them.I am guessing Gomez will start but Pizarro has scored a few recently so he might start too.
Robben and Lahm against Alba is also a worry so I would play Pedro on the left wing.They are a very fearsome opponent.
That being said,I dont understand the negativity here.I think we are favorites to win the whole thing.Dortmund are inexperienced,Bayern have choked recently and I am sure that will still be playing on their minds.
Madrid too are under intense pressure and dont think they can handle it.
We are a team full of champions and have been here before.
So I am confident that we will win the whole thing.

How long is Kroos out for? I assumed he would make it.

Does that automatically mean Robben will come in and Muller middle? My thoughts are yes.

alexjanosik wrote:As some of you may know,I support Bayern outside of La Liga so this is not good news to me.Would have much preferred the other two sides.
That being said Bayern are just incredible.From back to front.But Kroos is a big miss for them.He could have been a real danger.
The danger men are Ribery and Muller.Ribery has been sensational this season and Muller is a silent assassin.Mandzukic not playing is a blessing as he has been a revelation for them.I am guessing Gomez will start but Pizarro has scored a few recently so he might start too.
Robben and Lahm against Alba is also a worry so I would play Pedro on the left wing.They are a very fearsome opponent.
That being said,I dont understand the negativity here.I think we are favorites to win the whole thing.Dortmund are inexperienced,Bayern have choked recently and I am sure that will still be playing on their minds.
Madrid too are under intense pressure and dont think they can handle it.
We are a team full of champions and have been here before.
So I am confident that we will win the whole thing.

*bleep* yeah! Finally someone with positive attitude.

One thing I know about this team is that it knows how to step up when needed!

The Franchise wrote:How long is Kroos out for? I assumed he would make it.

Does that automatically mean Robben will come in and Muller middle? My thoughts are yes.

Haven't heard any official confirmation but from what I have heard (unofficial), it's the rest of the season.

Anyway, I'd have preferred bot the other teams as I think it would be easier to beat either Madrid or Dortmund, but I can't argue with a Barca vs Bayern semifinal.

I mean, as a footballing purist, I'm so excited about this tie. Surely I prefer to face Madrid or Dortmund and go through, maybe play a final vs Bayern, but this will be great regardless in terms of beauty.

Also, I fancy Dortmund to knock out Madrid, unless Madrid have refs on their side. Dortmund beat them before and they can beat them again, I'll say it again and again this Real Madrid team is hardly impressive. As long as Dortmund aren't as bad on defense as they were vs Shakhtar and Malaga, I see them progressing.

I am negative and that is because of our performances.

YES, I know on our day we can beat anybody and YES, I certainly think we are competitive with Bayern and they should fear us. But if we perform like we have been, I'm not expecting to go through. Not against this Bayern team.

Can people stop using the Arsenal game as their proof to Bayern's flaws? When you win 1-3 away with a game at home, you are not going to play at full intensity the next match. The only reason why Arsenal came close to causing a scare was because of this, and the fact that they scored an early goal while Bayern were napping. And throughout the whole match, Bayern barely switched gears while Arsenal were throwing their lives at them, yet they barely scored from open play while Robben alone missed 4 great chances to pull one back. I'm not saying Bayern are unbeatable, but how many times a team has got beaten when it barely mattered? Too many times.

Anyway, for Barcelona this is not the worst draw (Madrid would have been worse for you) but it is not the best either. I don't expect Barça to go past Bayern though. Their defence is too shaky to win a Champions League, have pretty much edged every match, some could call them lucky to be in the semis in the first place. On the other hand what has amused me most about Bayern is not only the fact that they've brushed passed their opponents, but their solidity in defence and attack simultaneously without having wizards like Messi or Cristiano. They are a true German team with fantastic work ethic and players whom, while not playing eye-candy football, do their job very well from goalkeeper to striker.

I think Madrid will be in the final, knowing Dortmund's young team will eventually choke under pressure as we saw against Málaga. They were barely the team we know and couldn't play their usual football. Expect this to happen against Madrid as well. For Madrid, this was probably the best draw because no way they'd beat Bayern over two legs. Now they've got their chances. And I believe they'll get their tenth, or la decima.

This madrid team winning the CL would be a joke They're fking awful

The thing is they aren't even as good as they were last season but I have a feeling they will win it. They have learned how to beat Barcelona and they have the upper hand in the psychological battle. At semis, they are up against a team of youngsters with negligible Champions League experience. Don't get me wrong, Dortmund at their best are awesome, but I've seen teams like this choking too many times in the later stages of the competition.

Yes, Bayern are superior to Madrid and should win if they reach the final, but these one-off matches are never predictable.

Spoiler:

I don't think my nerves would be able to handle this game. I might get a heart attack. I also can't help being pessimistic about our defense. But if Messi's fit, and we press FROM THE VERY FIRST MINUTE, and score early, we have a good chance.

I will kiss Valdes if he shows the same performance like in the PSG game (2nd leg). He really saved our asses. Iniesta was brilliant on the wing, and he should play there, though I would be happy even if we play Telllo-Villa-Messi too. Or Pedro-Villa-Messi.

Bayern parking the bus is absolutely out of question, and if memory serves me right, we can rape any team that plays "open play" against us. But again, our defense will be the problem.

danyjr wrote:

Spoiler:

Though yours is the superior one, I have mine too :
2008-09 : Barca wins CL
2009-10 : Barca out in semis
2010-11 : Barca wins CL
2011-12 : Barca out in semis
2012-13 :

Could Puyol play the first leg ? if not, when is he supposed to make his comeback ?

The thought of Adriano playing as a make-shift CB partner with Pique against Bayern at the Alianz Arena scares me...

I doubt we could get away with a defense like that against such a formidable opponent, I hope i am proven wrong though.

Barcelona seem to be playing Adriano against quick, counter-attacking opponents. This won't be the case against Bayern, who are a slower paced team. Apart from their wingers and fullbacks, they ain't quick and prefer a slower-tempo approach with focus on more patient play.

danyjr wrote:Barcelona seem to be playing Adriano against quick, counter-attacking opponents. This won't be the case against Bayern, who are a slower paced team. Apart from their wingers and fullbacks, they ain't quick and prefer a slower-tempo approach with focus on more patient play.

Bayern slower paced? Have you watched the first leg against Juve? There you could see Bayern's pace when they decide to go for it. And btw in the Arsenal 1st leg you could see that Bayern don't mind possession at all (only had 45% there), but defeated Arsenal due to fast counter attacks.

I didn't say slow paced. I said slower paced than the likes of Madrid.

Okay, the way you put it sounded to me like "a slower paced team in general".

Problem with Bayern is that they usually only do as much as is needed, so they might appear complacent at times and thus lazy, hence "slower".

DavidVilla7 wrote:Could Puyol play the first leg ? if not, when is he supposed to make his comeback ?

The thought of Adriano playing as a make-shift CB partner with Pique against Bayern at the Alianz Arena scares me...

I doubt we could get away with a defense like that against such a formidable opponent, I hope i am proven wrong though.

Adriano is suspended for the game anyway, he got a yellow in the last match.

The fact is Tito and co trust Adriano more than busquets, song or batra and and we are likely to see him again at CB in the Nou Camp, 2nd leg.

Adriano has played at CB vs Madrid and he was alongside mascherano, alba, alves I wouldnt really panic seeing him alongside pique vs Bayern.

Tbh, Batra has no future at Barca, unless he does a pique and moves elsewhere. With all the injuries we've had, there hasnt been a greater opportunity for a cantera to prove themselves. Just look at Varane, how he grabbed the opportunity.
Batra is tall an all, but I feel the coaching staff prefer people like Adriano for their game-reading abilities and maybe Batra hasnt shown enough in training to convince.

Batra will probably play in Munich, but thats just because Barca have no choice, however Adriano will return.

That being said, if Pique gets booked, = Batra-Adriano at the nou camp

I wanted Bayern and said as much the other day. I thought that the Pep Continuum wouldn’t kick in until next year though, that odd syndrome that always has us facing teams with which we have emotional ties. But I will take it, because I think that of the three teams that we could have faced, Bayern is the one that we have the best chance of beating.

Gomez will be much easier to play than Ibrahimovic, and Robben will cancel himself out by being selfish/silly. Ribery isn’t the player that he was, and Mandzukic being suspended for the first leg is lovely, as is the first leg being at the Allianz.

Bayern likes to have the ball, and we like to have the ball. As Blau-Grenade notes, Ribery can burn Alves, and Robben can burn Alba. The revers is also true, and I don’t think that Bayern is going to have the ball enough to burn anyone.

Bayern isn’t that same kind of crazy counterattacking side like Dortmund, PSG or Milan (when they chose to come out and play). I think this match will be more our speed, and I am confident of advancing. Why, because we are the best team in the world. Just as Bayern have ways to open up our defense, we have Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Sanchez and Villa. In space, we also have Pedro. We have the possession game, and we have something to play for: Greatness.

15 different injuries. At present Puyol and Mascherano are out with extended knocks. Two key members of the squad have faced down cancer this season. Lawsuits, squabbles and snits. There isn’t anything this team hasn’t had to face, short of a Biblical plague of locusts. But the motivation is there: For this club to again hoist the CL trophy at Wembley, it has to beat two of the five best teams in the world. To do that, they will have to play two matches of the quality of the Milan home leg. They definitely have that in them.

CBarca wrote:This madrid team winning the CL would be a joke They're fking awful

Chelsea won it last time and hardly anyone says they were the best team.

Expanding on the series arjun made.

2007-08 : Barca out in semis
2008-09 : Barca champions
2009-10 : Barca out in semis
2010-11 : Barca champions
2011-12 : Barca out in semis
2012-13 : ?

2008: Spain winning EC
2009: Barca winning CL
2010: Spain winning WC
2011: Barca winning CL
2012: Spain winning EC
2013:

I was nervous at first, but the more I think about it the better I feel about our chances.

I still think Dortmund is gonna get smashed by Madrid btw

Expect a clasico final. I won't be able to breathe through the whole match

I thought selections last night indicated the team vs Bayern will be.


I think they feel Alexis and Pedro's hard work will be key in the away leg.

Adriano's comments about needing springs in his boots if he were to play against Gomez etc also suggested he won't start... If he is going to, it hardly inspired confidence...

All speculation though.

BarcaKizz wrote:I thought selections last night indicated the team vs Bayern will be.

Valdes
Alves Pique Bartra Alba
Xavi Busquets Iniesta
Alexis Messi Pedro

I think they feel Alexis and Pedro's hard work will be key in the away leg.

Adriano's comments about needing springs in his boots if he were to play against Gomez etc also suggested he won't start... If he is going to, it hardly inspired confidence...

All speculation though.

Yes, it does seem it will be this lineup.
However, Abidal was so good that, maybe he will start? I don't think so but perhaps. Villa for Alexis has also a small chance, but I think we will need Alexis workrate vs. Bayern, especially considering that Messi will probably run little because he's coming after injury.

Adriano is suspended for the upcoming match. Bartra is almost a certain starter and I doubt Abidal will take Bartra's place after playing 90 minutes 3 days before hands.
Alexis played very well in his 10 minutes on the pitch more than any other attacker provided throughout the 90 minutes...

Another game in which we had a long time of rest and we played well was vs. Athletic Bilbao, last season's cup final.
I expect our lads to be at top form and play well vs. Bayern. Hell of a match.

Alexis also lost a few balls though. He sometimes makes things harder for himself. I agree he did provide more attacking power than your other strikers against Llevant.

danyjr wrote:Alexis also lost a few balls though. He sometimes makes things harder for himself. I agree he did provide more attacking power than your other strikers against Llevant.

Thats also true but when has Alexis never lost the ball cheaply?