dan.j.mcfc said:
Let's not get too carried away jumping on the Barca bang wagon. They are for me the best side in europe, but were knocked out of last seasons Champions league by the same side that were comprehensively beaten off Spurs not so long ago. They never have and never would beat a top premier league side like they did Madrid tonight. For me they have two players who control the game and a genius who can pretty much do anything. So I would say we are a real world class midfielder of Xavi's level and a superman kind of player like Messi away from them. Now some might say lightyears but I would say more like a couple of years.
Barca are an incredible team but they aren't invincible, it's been shown how they can be beaten but it requires a defense of incredible discipline, something Mourinho puts as key, he got it spot on at Inter. Real lack a proper defensive midfielder of the quality of Cambiasso, Alonso for me although brilliant but he is no ball winning Cambiasso. Mourinho has yet to really put his mark on Madrid. Most of the team he inherited especially defensively is of the Pellegrini era and beyond. Madrid also aren't a team ready to win everything but were lacking a manager to take them there, they are a group of individuals of great skill but just lack any form of cohesion. They were soundly beaten last year by Lyon at home with a similar team that played Barcelona tonight.
Your right in that Xavi and Iniesta control games, the statistics show they are the core of that team, they provide all the playmaking, Busquets basically is their anchor distributing the ball where space can be exploited. Everything is basically clicked for them, Messi can be unstoppable a lot of the time but he can be nullified when restricted of space, Inter did it amazingly well. Mourinho once said that 5 disciplined and organized players can beat 10 disorganized one's and its completely right. Not saying Barca are disorganized but their weakness will always ironically be their attacking play. So that means to beat the best attacking side in the world, you funnily enough need the best defence..
A side like Spurs I think could give them problems with their direct play but at the Nou Camp they'd honestly get slaughtered, no-one setup like them can cope with the movement, their isn't enough players literally to track runs. The only way to really stop Barcelona is to get men behind the ball, soak up everything they throw at you and hit them on the break, Chelsea did it 2 years ago at the Nou Camp and got a 0-0 which was unheard of! They almost won the tie albeit a last minute Iniesta away goal at Stamford Bridge.
Spurs beat Inter this season but Inter lack a manager now who can get them going. Mourinho is a brilliant motivator and he got them fired up completely to win the Champions League, just look at the emotion at the end of last year's final, it meant a lot to them. To be honest i can't see any team that can stop Barcelona this year, the only man who knows how to effectively stop them got beat 5-0 tonight so.. hmm
