BarcaFutbol

Why did Barca lose ?

Was it Xavi’s mistake in handing over the keys with two substitutions that made Barca lose the plot?

Is Ter Stegen an easy target with Real Marid regularly scoring long range shots when he is manning the posts?

Is Oriol Romeu without Frenkie on pitch a solution going forward?

Or did Anceloti play the waiting game to knock Barca out. He knew Barca did not have a bench and that they would need to sub in while Madrid had Kroos and Camavinga waiting in the wings..

Every Clasico, comes with its own drama, subplots and counterpoints.

Delve into some of the data and tactical bits as Dom and me try to answer some of the most pertinent questions that came up in that wake of that defeat

El Clasico - A tale of two halves Why did Barca lose ?Was it Xavi’s mistake in handing over the keys with two substitutions that made Barca lose the plot? Is Ter Stegen an easy target with Re...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oBkOTVqyNY

Are Barca back to playing free flowing football Two games. Millions of hopeful fans. Last week Barca's games against Betis and Royal Antwerp were outliers. Outliers, because Barca hadn't played this way in...

Check out our detailed profile on Vitor Roque.

Vitor Roque: In-depth tactical analysis of his roles at Xavi's Barcelona Vitor Roque is a new Barcelona player! But how does he fit and how can he be used in Xavi's system? Let's find out.

Free Book Giveaway!.We are giving away one free copy of " Marcelo Bielsa- Coaching Build Up Play against High Pressing Teams".
Enter the contest and stand to win.

The Marcelo Bielsa Book Giveaway The Marcelo Bielsa Book Giveaway by BarcaFutbol. Hosted by KingSumo Giveaways

Free Book Giveaway! We are giving away one free copy of " Marcelo Bielsa - Coaching Build up play against High pressing Teams" . Join the giveaway in the link below and follow the prompts. We will ship the book to one lucky winner

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https://contests.barcafutbol.com

It’s August the fifth 2021 and as the clock strikes 5.51 pm local time, Culés around the globe will have their worlds shattered in a single tweet. Barcelona announce the impossible. The unimaginable. The unforgivable. Barcelona announce the departure of Lionel Messi. And time stops as the whole universe holds its breath.

Xavi's Barcelona: Champions against all the odds It's been an uphill battle for Barcelona year after year but here they are, champions and making progress, against all the odds.

The return of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele was hailed as the solution to most of Barcelona’s issues. However, as we’ve seen time and again, better players don’t make the system, they only elevate it. If the system and the collective aren’t functioning correctly and the fundamentals of the team are lacking, both on an individual and systemic level, different players won’t be the answer to those woes.

Barcelona's floor is (still) way too low As long as the fundamentals are not good enough, better players won't elevate Barcelona's level enough to be relevant.

Barcelona have been on a path to rediscover their identity for several years now. Coaches like Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Ronald Koeman all had different ideas of what that actually meant but none could bring it to life. At least not the way it was meant to be brought to life.

Xavi's bittersweet reign: Why can't Barcelona control games? It's been the question on everyone's mind since Xavi took over the team. But are we any closer to finding the answer?

Inheriting the blessed number 10 shirt after Lionel Messi is a cross not many can bear. In fact, not many would even try in the first place. Why bother? The chances of success are non-existent to minimal, the inevitable comparisons with Messi are more an anchor than a boost and expectations are on an unhealthily high level for anyone, let alone a teen with little senior football exposure.

Has Ansu Fati's fate at Barcelona already been sealed? Things aren't looking good for Barcelona's prodigy.

Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been very vocal about my expectations and criteriums for this new Barcelona. Xavi needs to improve the team. It’s as simple as that and it’s objective number one. Not much has changed since; I would rather sack him on the basis of not achieving that objective than on a potential lack of silverware. At the end of the season, this Barcelona team will likely be crowned champions of Spain. But they are not playing like champions. Not even close to it.

Barcelona are sometimes a good enough team For every dominant display, Barcelona give us several underwhelming ones. And that's simply not good enough.

Game models are crucial in football. What would you say if someone who never saw Xavi’s Barcelona asked you to describe his team? If you can confidently and concisely answer that question, there’s a clear game model in place at the Camp Nou. Personally, however, I find it difficult to give a clear response.

As long as Barça compromise on who they want (and need) to be, they will suffer The devastating Cup defeat hurts but the total surrender of principles and the way Barcelona lost their heads in the second half is a much bigger blow.

It’s easy to criticise when the team loses and nothing goes their way. That’s when the flaws are in the spotlight and kicking someone when they’re down is what often happens. But criticising when the team is winning is far more difficult. That’s when we have to analyse the details, look for little things that could’ve been better and identify aspects that can take the team to a new level.

Dominant result, (not so) dominant display: Barça score 4 but still underperform? It was a convincing win for Barcelona, at least on paper. But there are still questions Xavi needs to answer.