₦airaland Forum

Pastor Olu T: Jesus would appear in the sky for the saints!

AjanleKoko: What passes did he hold back from making? He did his normal keep-ball routine, playing probing passes, spreading the ball horizontally, looking for the through pass wherever it was available.

ANALYSIS
By Kris Voakes
Barcelona are the most successful club in the modern era of the Champions League, according to a Goal study.

The world’s biggest football website collated the yearly records of every club ever to qualify for the European Cup under its new banner since 1992 and found that the Catalan outfit pip AC Milan to the title of the greatest team in the greatest club competition in the world.

Using the Fibonacci points formula of ascending value, teams reaching the first stage of any one edition were given one point, those making the round of 16 gained two, quarter-finalists three, semi-finalists five, finalists earned eight and winners were allotted 13 points. And, over the course of the 21-year history of the new-style tournament, three-time winners Barca collected a total of 92 points compared to the Rossoneri’s 86.

Johnpaul88: Pique is too awful in organising how the team can defend corners.

Johnpaul88: I don't know what Barca will do to improve their corner defending. It's awful and doesn't seem to get better. If nothing is done about it, hmmmm!

AjanleKoko: Not only Messi. You can trace the physical collapse of the team last season to the departure of Buenaventura, who is easily the most experienced physio in Spain. He has worked with many of Spain's sports teams since Barcelona '92.

Barca played over the previous four years some 300-odd games, dominating possession by an average 60%, playing up to a minimum of semi-finals in most competitions, with a thin squad by most standards. They never had the kind of spectacular form collapse that they did starting from March this year. To a large extent you have to give it to Buenaventura and his team.

He is now physio at Bayern Munich .

cisse7575: Messi needs some rest though, why was he not an injury prone player in pep's era?? Still wondering...does that means pep knows how to manage messi than any other coach, not my opinion though?

Guardiola had the audacity to deem Deco and Ronaldinho surplus to requirements. He also realised that the future’s Lionel Messi and he needed special attention. The Argentine was an ardent lover of steaks, cola and sweets but under Guardiola, he was strictly restricted to a diet of vegetables and fish.

Guardiola also administered a special set of vitamins which were essential to the young man’s development. It’s not only Messi, but every member of the squad was administered a special combination of vitamins and minerals for their physical development and endurance. The devil is in the details and not many know this better than Guardiola.

In his early years in Barcelona, Messi had taken comfort in Argentine food, savouring steaks at his favourite restaurant in the Catalan capital - Las Cuartetas. Visits were frequent and would involve a feast of both meat and sweets. Under Guardiola, that soon stopped. Leo had previously turned his nose up at vegetables and barely touched fish. Now, they formed part of his staple diet and, each morning, he would consume a special set of vitamins prepared and left for him in a small container at the club's training ground. Every player was handed a mixture of minerals to boost their very own needs. Nothing was being left to chance.

There would be no more late nights watching Argentine football, either, with Leo learning that sleep would speed up his recuperation and allow him to take his game to an even higher plane.

But there was still a concern that, at the tender age of 21, Messi could break down again. One more serious injury and his already fragile state may have suffered unnecessarily - not to mention his brittle body.

Guardiola therefore told Barca physio Juanjo Brau to watch Messi day and night. Brau shadowed Leo and the two have become inseparable, even sometimes seeing each other on their days off and travelling together when Messi plays for Argentina. In a new book, 'The Messi Mystery', authors Sebastian Fest and Alex Juillard explain his routine: "Before each training session, Leo trains with Brau, one on one, for 45 minutes and after each one he has another half-hour session.

When Pep Guardiola left Barcelona, he didn’t leave alone. Among others, the physical trainer Lorenzo Buenaventura – who had specifically adjusted Messi’s training programs – left the club to later join Guardiola in Bayern Munich. Buenaventura’s spot in the physical staff was taken by Edu Pons, who had previously worked with Barcelona’s youth teams.

ddippset: messi misses 2-3 weeks.

usbcable: yawns and reactivates GHOST MODE.

Johnpaul88: Muniz Fernandez did not officiate our copa loss to Madrid in 2010, Undiano Mellanco did! We have not won any El classico he officiated ever since.
And he's officiated 3!

AjanleKoko: Cesar Muniz Fernandez is the Worst Referee in the World (Right Now)

"I don't think he got it right," said Victoriano Sanchez Arminio. "Maybe he had some family issue that meant he wasn't in the right frame of mind."
The referees' chief added: "But there you go, sometimes we get it right and sometimes not, that's football.
"When someone is not on form on the pitch it's one thing after the other."

logica: Um...is that not an indictment on Moaninho? I can remember he's the sore loser always crying over Barca getting help from UEFA (how pathetic). Where as he usually gets a lot of assistance from refs who have either been bribed or are indeed scared of him. Dunno which.

This same ref who we are speaking of here (with the ridiculous slicked-back hair) called Muniz Fernandez was also the same at the center when Barca visited The Bernabeu in 2010; and who ensured Moaninho was not humiliated home and away on his first season in Spain. The match ended 1-1 after he'd overlooked several penalty calls in favor of Barca (especially one that would've seen Casillas sent off).

Johnpaul88: Real madrid have now resorted to shouting down the referees to cow them into taking some big decisions in their favour. It was very evident against Valencia. Thank God some Valencia players have come out to alert everybody in case they did not notice the robbery the other day, to watch out for sunday's re match. The referees that day will be under intense pressure to do well.

philfearon: With all their over €300m players,they still cant win a match in a normal way without rubbing an opponent...GOD! I hate Madrid...They are a disgrace to football and spain..Against Getafe,same thing,Ordinary newly Promoted Elche,they still rob them......I HATE MADRID! Shame on them!

sebod: What i fear most is happening now! Mascherano is out for 15 days, Alba is still on the sideline, Andriano is not reliable as he's injury prone. And we can't count on Pique for now.

logica: Meanwhile Real Madrid just won with a dubious goal (Ronaldo offside) and a clear Granada penalty turned down. I am going to spend the entire season pointing out how Real Madrid is a beneficiary of a lot of dubious calls while Barca is at the receiving end of a lot of wrong calls. That is my project for this season.

Yahoo1: now thats the worst call i hv ever seen,very poor. it happens though...sometimes you get it against you

Well folks, replays show that that was NEVER a penalty kick! If anything, it was a free kick to Elche! Shocker from the referee, and Real Madrid are gifted the victory!

FULL TIME. Real Madrid are gifted three points in La Liga after being awarded a dramatic stoppage time penalty penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring early in the second period with a free kick and Elche equalised late on through a Boakye header, but further drama was still in store as the referee gave a penalty for a non-foul on Pepe. Ronaldo dispatched the penalty, and luckily gained the win for Los Blancos. I'm Martin Macdonald, thanks for joining us, see you next time!

Johnpaul88: while he refused to send Ramos off for second bookable offence. It's obvious the match is destined for only one winner and it's never the host. Shame on that ref

ketoprofen: lwkmd!
Na yorubas own houses in Lagos high brow before?
See this one o

osinachukwu: we re der to own. Lands,and houses become landlords and make ur oily nyash pay rent to us,better start trembling wen u hear the word igbo,fool!