Barcelona: Charged with corruption .... again!

stefan92 said:
As long as he is employed by the club he has access to its medical facilities. That might be worth something to him, especially in his situation.

He wouldn't be the first player to sign a contract just for that, for example Marcel Schmelzer has ended his career after injury, but still got kind of a minimum wage contract in Dortmund to be able complete his rehab at the club.
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He already had a contract until 2023. That's a year and a half of access to medical facilities. What does he need 5 years of access to medical facilities for, an operation to turn into a cyborg? Is he having an affair with the team physio?

He's not even injured. He played a full 90 minutes less than a month ago. He's just not very good anymore.
 
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Dembele will have lots of offers from top clubs in europe. Whether any is insane enough to meet his wage demands remains to be seen. Hes still young enough and has the ability at elite level to unlock defences. That promise thats still there will mean clubs will be after him. Wouldnt suprise me if PSG picked him up on a free at Mbappe replacement.
 
dinostar77 said:
Dembele will have lots of offers from top clubs in europe. Whether any is insane enough to meet his wage demands remains to be seen. Hes still young enough and has the ability at elite level to unlock defences. That promise thats still there will mean clubs will be after him. Wouldnt suprise me if PSG picked him up on a free at Mbappe replacement.
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Yes, I could totally see than happening. They could match his wage demands and could market him as the best french player not called Mbappé.
 
We need an rvn said:
I think you’re wrong there though and I’d sack my agent if he or she put this in front of me.

Why would a player walk away from (for sake of argument your figures) 22m over 1.5 years and be a free player in 2023 only to agree to a new contract that pays him 4m per year with the clause Barca can cancel his contract in 2023. The player would be 16m out of change if Barca did cancel in 2023 (and they would as he’s been injured and shite)

the clause for 2023 will be if they do get rid in 2023 that they will have to pay him the full 22m.

the only thing Barca have done is free up cap space to register Torres, but umtiti will not be any worse off, can guarantee you that.

no player would agree to drop their annual salary from 15m to 4m
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Wondered about that, too. Maybe Umtiti thinks he needs mire than 1.5 years to get back to his best and hopes he can recover fully over the 4.5 years of training at a top club at the highest level, best medical treatment etc.?
 
Iker Quesadillas said:
He already had a contract until 2023. That's a year and a half of access to medical facilities. What does he need 5 years of access to medical facilities for, an operation to turn into a cyborg? Is he having an affair with the team physio?

He's not even injured. He played a full 90 minutes less than a month ago. He's just not very good anymore.
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If he's not very good anymore maybe he's just scared of where he might end up? Yes he's earning a little less now, but he gets to stay at a large club for the next several years.
 
Oldyella said:
he's earning a little less now, but he gets to stay at a large club for the next several years.
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That would be a good benefit. But we're being told on this thread that this deal, with a reduced salary, makes it easier to send him out on loan. That would remove the benefit of 'being at a large club.'

The deal is being sold here as being 100% favorable to Barcelona even though Umtiti held much more bargaining power, since they needed to renew him now to sort out the Ferran Torres registration issue. It's hard to believe they didn't give anything up.

Zehner said:
Maybe Umtiti ... hopes he can recover fully over the 4.5 years of training at a top club at the highest level, best medical treatment etc.?
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Unlikely:
According to Mundo Deportivo, Umtiti burst into tears during the meeting and explained to Laporta that the club's medical staff failed to treat his injury properly.
https://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2021/09/04/61336567268e3e5a268b45ab.html
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Umtiti confirmed that he cried at the meeting, so we know the whole thing isn't a fabrication. In the same interview he talks about medical treatment and says he saw 3-4 doctors and that the final decision on not to get surgery was his. He says he chose that because it was his career on the line, not the doctor's.
 
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I just read Xavi has 5 victories in 12 games with Barcelona now.

Also, when Xavi took charge he was 10 points off the leader and is 17 points off at the moment.
 
I love to crap on Barcelona as much as the next guy, but it's normal for the gap between your position and the top to increase over the course of the season. Real Madrid have only dropped 4 points since Xavi was appointed, and have played one more game. There's no way he was reducing that gap.

Bigger issue is that even though they've improved, the PPG are still very low. 1.875.
 
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Poor kid, could be out for the end of the season. Seems his body isn't made for high level sport. Too bad, he's very talented. I'm not a huge Barcelona fan but this is just sad.

 
On the one hand, he plays for that lot so feck him

On the other hand, he's just a kid, ridiculously talented and it's a damn shame he keeps getting injured. Hopefully he goes through with the surgery and fixes the issue permanently

Good luck to him
 
giorno said:
On the one hand, he plays for that lot so feck him

On the other hand, he's just a kid, ridiculously talented and it's a damn shame he keeps getting injured. Hopefully he goes through with the surgery and fixes the issue permanently

Good luck to him
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The problem is, it's not as if he got one bad injury that could be fixed. He had knee surgery, then a thigh muscle, now a tendon from another thigh muscle, his body just seems to give up on him and he's only 19.
 
Oly Francis said:
The problem is, it's not as if he got one bad injury that could be fixed. He had knee surgery, then a thigh muscle, now a tendon from another thigh muscle, his body just seems to give up on him and he's only 19.
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And that happenned in both legs.

So sad but I think his body is not able to cope with international football endurance.
 
Oly Francis said:
The problem is, it's not as if he got one bad injury that could be fixed. He had knee surgery, then a thigh muscle, now a tendon from another thigh muscle, his body just seems to give up on him and he's only 19.
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Is Barca playing him to much? Does he get enough time to regenerate? Is the medical team dealing with his issues in the right way? Is he advised and supported in regard to his lifestyle?

I think there are questions that should be asked when you look at the bigger picture containing Dembele and Umtiti who are medical disasters as well.
 
Is Xavi afraid to bench his former teammates or something?

Regardless of his actual coaching abilities, you can't return to the top with all these mid 30 veterans starting every game.

Perhaps he will in the summer, once he has gotten a few signings.

Though, also unfortunate with the injuries, hope Fati can overcome his injury struggles soon.
 
stefan92 said:
Is Barca playing him to much? Does he get enough time to regenerate? Is the medical team dealing with his issues in the right way? Is he advised and supported in regard to his lifestyle?

I think there are questions that should be asked when you look at the bigger picture containing Dembele and Umtiti who are medical disasters as well.
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I'm not a Barcelona pro, someone like @Daysleeper might know more but i think i've heard the 1st knee surgery didn't go as planned and he had to go for a 2nd one. Then people said Barcelona rushed a bit to have him back on the pitch the 1st time but they seemed pretty careful after that.

I've never heard anything negative about his lifestyle.
 
Morty_ said:
Is Xavi afraid to bench his former teammates or something?

Regardless of his actual coaching abilities, you can't return to the top with all these mid 30 veterans starting every game.

Perhaps he will in the summer, once he has gotten a few signings.

Though, also unfortunate with the injuries, hope Fati can overcome his injury struggles soon.
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Pique is better than anything else they have except Araujo. Alba is the only option they have. Busquets, yeah, but A) he's still one of their best players most of the time(he's a liability in high intensity, fast paced games, like what Athletic put them through, but the majority of their opponents aren't really capable of it) and B) they're not really optimized to drop him right now. With De Jong's continued struggles plus the only way they can make it work is by switching to a double pivot with Nico next to him(Busquets would be sort of redundant) and Xavi seemingly doesn't want to do that - in all honesty they'd be better off selling De Jong in the summer - Dani Alves brings experience and class and appears to be still physically capable enough and Xavi really doesn't seem to rate Dest, so...

Plus the rest are kids. Talented as they may be, they're in a top 4 dog fight - going at it with only kids would be very, very dangerous

All in all it's a mess and while Xavi talks a good game and clearly has very clear ideas about what he wants them to do so far there is no indication he is actually *good*
 
giorno said:
Pique is better than anything else they have except Araujo. Alba is the only option they have. Busquets, yeah, but A) he's still one of their best players most of the time(he's a liability in high intensity, fast paced games, like what Athletic put them through, but the majority of their opponents aren't really capable of it) and B) they're not really optimized to drop him right now. With De Jong's continued struggles plus the only way they can make it work is by switching to a double pivot with Nico next to him(Busquets would be sort of redundant) and Xavi seemingly doesn't want to do that - in all honesty they'd be better off selling De Jong in the summer - Dani Alves brings experience and class and appears to be still physically capable enough and Xavi really doesn't seem to rate Dest, so...

Plus the rest are kids. Talented as they may be, they're in a top 4 dog fight - going at it with only kids would be very, very dangerous

All in all it's a mess and while Xavi talks a good game and clearly has very clear ideas about what he wants them to do so far there is no indication he is actually *good*
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I've always loved Busquets but but he makes enough mistakes now that I think it makes sense to make Gavi the false 9 (he turns so well and seems too small for the midfield battle) and play a diamond with De Jong sitting and Nico and Pedri either side, with Torres and Depay up top.

If they move De Jong and sign a Busquets replacement (is there a Rodri type available?) I hope to god we pick him up.
 
De Jong as a pivot needs a holding mid next to him, or at least someone really good at rotating into his the spaces he vacates. His best quality is carrying the ball forward...
 
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stefan92 said:
Is Barca playing him to much? Does he get enough time to regenerate? Is the medical team dealing with his issues in the right way? Is he advised and supported in regard to his lifestyle?

I think there are questions that should be asked when you look at the bigger picture containing Dembele and Umtiti who are medical disasters as well.
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Once Xavi took over, the entire medical staff got fired. Our previous medical board was one of the worst in Europe. The problem for Fati and Dembele is that the type of injuries they have in the past tend to make them more injury prone in the future. Fati is so damn good when he plays but being this fragile this young is a little bit scary. Hopefully he recovers and has a good career but it’s been really rough for him.
 
Between 2016 and 2018, Barcelona spent over £210m on Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina, and Andre Gomes.

They all played on Saturday in the Aston Villa vs Everton match.
 
Like Pep-era style. Tiki-taka. Triangles and that.

They are playing good. And they have good players like Pedri in their midfield that already look really good.
 
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Xavi has shown just how good he is as a manager compared to many other more "established" coaches. Turns out what makes a good manager isn't solely due to the amount of experience they have, but also something called innate talent as a manager.

To be fair to Xavi, he didn't immediately jump onto the big scene as a manager. He spent a few years at Qatar as a manager, which is probably good for his development. A good manager still need some experience, but the best place to gain experience seems to be in jobs when they aren't being as scrutinised by the media while having a team expected to win some titles. Pep gained experience in the 2nd division of Spain, while Xavi's experience in Qatar both provided them with a safe "test-bed" where they could learn the tricks of being a manager.

You can tell a good manager from a bad one by looking at how deeply they think about football as a sport. It is not surprising that aside from Klopp, some of the best "new" managers tend to be midfield legends like Zidane and Pep. There is every possibility Xavi could join them in the near future if he finally managed to win the La Liga.
 
Vaultech said:
Xavi has shown just how good he is as a manager compared to many other more "established" coaches. Turns out what makes a good manager isn't solely due to the amount of experience they have, but also something called innate talent as a manager.

To be fair to Xavi, he didn't immediately jump onto the big scene as a manager. He spent a few years at Qatar as a manager, which is probably good for his development. A good manager still need some experience, but the best place to gain experience seems to be in jobs when they aren't being as scrutinised by the media while having a team expected to win some titles. Pep gained experience in the 2nd division of Spain, while Xavi's experience in Qatar both provided them with a safe "test-bed" where they could learn the tricks of being a manager.

You can tell a good manager from a bad one by looking at how deeply they think about football as a sport. It is not surprising that aside from Klopp, some of the best "new" managers tend to be midfield legends like Zidane and Pep. There is every possibility Xavi could join them in the near future if he finally managed to win the La Liga.
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Tactic wise just the same school of Cruyff, LVG, Pep, Arteta and now Xavi.
 
Another manager proving you don't need 400 million and 3 years to put your stamp on the team.
 
Wil eventually succeed Pep at City.
Similar style.

Requires great players, but Xavi will get that at City.
 
The positional play is the most superior tactical system in the history of football. Xavi, Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel, Nagelsmann and Conte all utilise elements of it. We are living in the era of Johan Cruijff
 
kouroux said:
It does help that a lot of his players were used to what he wanted from them. He deserves a ton of credit for sure.
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Xavi actually complained that some of his players did not understand Positional Play. It is the basic methodology of Barcelona.

https://www.sport.es/en/news/barca/...yers-dont-understand-positional-play-12998439

His coaching has been fantastic. Barcelona are playing like they did in Pep Guardiola's first season, before he became obsessed with absolute control.
 
totaalvoetbal said:
The positional play is the most superior tactical system in the history of football. Xavi, Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel, Nagelsmann and Conte all utilise elements of it. We are living in the era of Johan Cruijff
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On point. Especially if you have superior players. It's easily the best systems to make advantages in quality count. It should be the system of choice for every elite club rich enough to attract elite players.
 
Modric as the false 9 played into Barcelona's hands and the Madrid center halves were abysmal. Credit to Barcelona but it wasn't some coaching masterclass.
 
totaalvoetbal said:
The positional play is the most superior tactical system in the history of football. Xavi, Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel, Nagelsmann and Conte all utilise elements of it. We are living in the era of Johan Cruijff
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You could have said to me: Cruijff is the Barca coach today or Pep is the Barca coach today... and I would believe you.
 
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