Princefrankie1:


Lol. Naysayers again. Guardiola average? Lol. There is nothing I will not read on this forum o.

Rijkaard 2007 first 11 consisted of:

VALDES

MARQUEZ >> PUYOL >> OLEGUER >> VAN BRONCKHORST

EDMILSON >> DECO >> VAN BOMMEL

GUILY >> ETO'O >> RONALDINHO.


Rijkaard ended the 2007 season trophyless. Leaving Barcelona with too many old guards and an underperforming team.


Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola in 2006, won promotion for Barca B in his debut season as their coach playing wonderful, scintillating, possession based football which was later nicknamed tiki taka.


That made the Barcelona board to appoint him even though he was unproven at that point at the big stage. They saw the way the B team played. They wanted him to deploy same tactics to the senior team.


On his first day, Guardiola said: “These three (Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel
Eto’o) are not in my mind for the future, we will be going forward without
them.

Ronaldinho, Deco, Edmilson, Gio dos Santos, Ezquerro, Crosas, Oleguer and Zambrotta were all shipped out. That is almost all of Rijkaard's first 11. Except just goalkeeper Valdes and Puyol.

Just look up the names in Rijkaard's first team players. Did Pep use any of them? He showed them the door. Total overhauling, without breaking the bank on new players. He promoted several fringe players to the first 11 from the La Masia academy and made them play the greatest football ever seen.

Pep Guardiola built the greatest Barcelona team with which he won all the trophies contested for from the scratch. They played the kind of football never seen before in the history of the round leather game.

Pep Guardiola first 11 in 2012 were all from the Barcelona La Masia academy.

Victor Valdes >> Martin Montoya, >> Carles Puyol, >> Gerard Pique >> Jordi Alba, >> Xavi, >> Sergio Busquets >> Andres Iniesta, Pedro, >> Lionel Messi >> Cesc Fabregas.

That is why he is regarded as a GENIUS by people who know his history.

How then can you say such a man is OVERRATED??

How can you say he won because RIJKAARD laid the blueprint?

How?? What blueprint??

Think again bro.

So Montoya was starting ahead of Dani Alves abi? And Fabregas was starting in place of David Villa?
And none of the starting players were promoted from the academy by Pep. They were all in the 1st team before Pep came around. And Xavi was a starter even before Frank Rijkaard, otherwise he wouldn't have played almost 800 games for Barca.

I pity Chelsea...

Sheuns:

They were knocked out by Real, remember? And I'm a Madrid fan not Arsenal. Tottenham won't pass the group stage.

You are an ingrate, despite all that Tottenham did for Madrid( we gave you bale and mordric) .TOTTENHAM WILL BEAT MADRID HOME AND AWAY

Collins10:
That bae is fine!!!!!!

My brother, u dey see road!

Who are deceiving trek of how many minute why not port novo

chiefolododo:
You are an ingrate, despite all that Tottenham did for Madrid( we gave you bale and mordric) .TOTTENHAM WILL BEAT MADRID HOME AND AWAY

They couldn't resist the offers and the players couldn't resist coming to Madrid either. If Tottenham can beat Dortmund and maybe pull a draw against Madrid they might qualify. But how sure is that?

okay

Jonbold:

Like seriously Please tell me more

Did you even read before commenting?



We're talking UCL and you're showing League Cup and UEL...

Sheuns:

They couldn't resist the offers and the players couldn't resist coming to Madrid either. If Tottenham can beat Dortmund and maybe pull a draw against Madrid they might qualify. But how sure is that?

100 PERCENT

Princefrankie1:


As a student of the likes of Van Gaal, Johan Cruyff and Marcelo Bielsa, Pep Guardiola was fortunate enough to learn and study the ideas of great football visionaries.

His mentor Johan Cruyff, thought him so much about tactics. Cruyff was the brain behind possession based football.

Countless times, Pep doesn't forget to acknowledge Johan Cruyff as the man who made him who he is today.

Pep insisted his remarkable success in the Barcelona dugout was not comparable to the achievements of Cruyff's Dream Team.

"They were pioneers and we cannot compete with that no matter how many trophies we win," he said in 2011.
''We will never equal the period of the Dream Team as they were the first to break up the long period without success.

Cruyff built the ''Dream Team." A team that would keep the ball and dominate the game. Pep Guardiola was the midfield anchor man in that team. And they dominated teams playing wonderful football.

But they were not as good as Guardiola's Barcelona. Neither did they play the same way. They kept possession, but in a different way.

There are different ways teams keep possession. Some keep possession with little or no penetration. Like Liverpool and Arsenal. But Barcelona kept possession as a form of defence and attack.

As a tactic for defence: Depriving the opponent of the ball makes it difficult for them to create chances and score.

As a tactic for attack: Keeping the ball for long periods of time weakens and frustrates the opponent, thereby taking them out of position on the field of play.

No team has ever and will ever play the kind of football Barcelona played under Pep.

Not even the great Cruyff's dream team of 1988 which featured great players like Romario, Michael Laudrup, Ronald Koeman, Pep Guardiola...

Not even Louis Van Gaal's 1995 Ajax team with players such as Van der Sar, Frank Rijkaard, Frank de Boer, Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids and our very own Finidi George and Nwankwo Kanu.

Not even the Real Madrid team of the late 50's who dominated world football with players like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskas...

Not even the great Arrigo Sacchi's Ac Milan team of 1988 which included the likes of Paolo Maldini, Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, and Franco Baresi...

All these teams had great players, played great football and won lots of trophies, but Pep's Barcelona won it all in style.

As Guardiola humbly and rightly said, Johan Cruyff was the pioneer, he was the initiator, the teacher, but Guardiola as a clever student, learnt his masters trade and bettered it.

I admire your knowledge of history in football, and that's why I made out time to reply you.

As for the people who say Pep inherited a good team at Barcelona and that's why he won, I don't bother replying them, because they know nothing about HISTORY.

Have a wonderful night rest!

first time i met a Barcelona fans with total knowledge of football history.. i always admire those who not only know much about their team but also know more about others team. i wasn't surprised by your references to Madrid of 1950, Van Gaal of 1995 and Sachhi of 1988...however, am seeing dis Zidane of Madrid to supercede Guardiola of Barcelona in next two years if not in style of play but numbers of trophies unless Barcelona act in soonest. Barcelona's problem had given a sign when Xavi (midfielder Maestro) left the club but magical Messi, Skillful Neymar nd rugged Suarez would not let the problem surfaced. if there is no total restructuring in Barca's board in soonest, i see Madrid dominating Spanish nd European Football. this is the time when Messi should be given rest at times but the Board had forgotten LA Masia Academy where Messi's loyalist heir would have been easily recruited.. because to me, Neymar is not loyal to Barcelona though he has his own ambition which i respect..am Real Madrid fans... but i respect Xavi so much. the dude was made from d middle of the sand. he is a complete midfielder.

cameeeeel:
first time i met a Barcelona fans with total knowledge of football history.. i always admire those who not only know much about their team but also know more about others team. i wasn't surprised by your references to Madrid of 1950, Van Gaal of 1995 and Sachhi of 1988...however, am seeing dis Zidane of Madrid to supercede Guardiola of Barcelona in next two years if not in style of play but numbers of trophies unless Barcelona act in soonest. Barcelona's problem had given a sign when Xavi (midfielder Maestro) left the club but magical Messi, Skillful Neymar nd rugged Suarez would not let the problem surfaced. if there is no total restructuring in Barca's board in soonest, i see Madrid dominating Spanish nd European Football. this is the time when Messi should be given rest at times but the Board had forgotten LA Masia Academy where Messi's loyalist heir would have been easily recruited.. because to me, Neymar is not loyal to Barcelona though he has his own ambition which i respect..am Real Madrid fans... but i respect Xavi so much. the dude was made from d middle of the sand. he is a complete midfielder.

You are very much on point brother. Barcelona have forgotten LaMasia. Otherwise, they wouldn't have signed players like Arda Turan, Lopez, Paulinho, nor even Dembele.

As for the present Real Madrid team under the tutelage of a great tactician in Zenidane Zidane, I see them doing great things and winning greater number of trophies if Zidane stays longer than Pep stayed in Barca.

The players are at their peak. Casemiro, Kroos, Isco, Carvajal, Modric, Ramos, Benzema, Varane, plus the ever reliable young talents in Asensio and Varquez..
So, as long as Zenidane stays in the dugout, they will surely dominate europe, unless like you said, Barcelona retraces their steps and look inward again for great players.

But, when I asserted that Pep's team is the greatest football team ever, I meant the playing style, and not basically the number of trophies they won.

Because, the Real Madrid team of 1959 won the European cup (Champions League) for 5 consecutive times under coach, Miguel Munoz, yet people rate Pep's Barcelona above them. Just because of the way they won, not how much they won.

So, brother, this present Madrid team is great, but do they blow off teams with intricate passing, triangular positioning, immediate ball retention and some other qualities the 2008-12 Barcelona team had?

I don't think so!

I have never watched football that good.

PS, I am not a Barcelona fan like most people think. I followed Barcelona then due to their unique style of play. I am a great fan of good football. Tactical football.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

andrew444:


And Spanish league is not competitive but they always flourish in Europe competition likewise the competitive EPL

Dude, EPL don't take a break hope you know that.

Spanish league has always been a 2-horse race between Madrid and Barcelona. It wasn't until athletico came by and lifted it. Currently it has gotten back to a 2-horse race again.

Compare it to England. Leicester City did the unthinkable and beating about 5k odds to win the league.

I doubt your messi would be seen on a rainy day at Stoke City

Teaser4:
Funny enough, both teams no go near quaters, shey na stupid juventus Bleep up, barcelona of last season go rape madrid. make we dey look, man utd no go pass 2nd round if dem reach dia sef. infact no english go smel semis. cos if i talk quaters, man city get craze. E go clear 4 ur eyes. if my barca start killing teams dis season, yal go stfu, we no go c una. awon olobe. quote me and thunder go fal on u

You are on your own, by the time the competition get underway you will b3 disappointed with your thought.

cstr1000:

Liverpool is Rich. Coutinho is worth more to them than 135 mill.
They are not selling at any price because they want to make impact. If you want coutinho, then send back suarez. The quality lost has to be replaced.

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