Ivan Rakitic

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RooneyLegend said:
Shooting really isn't a way for a barca midfielder to endear himself to the club. Their midfielders rarely shoot and when the do they get the old messi stare. If he is a better dribbler, he's just slightly better but a long way away from iniesta, busquets or xavi. Another strong point of rakitic is his set pieces, but seeing how few Neymar took, I'd say he won't be taking many more if any.

His qualities aren't there, but that's because they're not what they normally want in a midfielder. Xavi, busquets and iniesta are to prototype. Retain the ball in tight spaces, pass it horizontally till clear opportunity presents itself, suffocate opposition midfields and piercing midfield lines with combinations or dribbling(iniesta) is what they specialise in. Give them something different they snub it. Mascherano when he set foot there tried to give them steel and energy, was sent to the defence shortly after. Song has tried to give them strength and adventurous passing, been demoted to a garbage time player. Cesc tried to be more direct and adventurous, now he's getting sold for his troubles Even the heir to the throne(thiago) was at times accused of being reckless with the ball despite his very high level of ball retention.

Yes, there are obviously slight differences in Ivan and cesc's games(shooting, defensive contribution and set pieces the glaring ones) but not enough for him to succeed if they don't change their approach IMO. He's just as direct, he's just as sloppy on the ball, and his 1 touch play is probably worse. The factors that have forced cesc to see the door and I really do due to that have my doubts over whether this will be any different. He'd be better off heading to the prem.
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Barcelona have no idea what they want. They have Eto'o scoring lots of goals, they wanted Villa instead. Couldnt get him, blow a load on Ibrahimovic. Dont like that, go back to Villa. Play him on the left. Dont like that, sign Alexis. They want Fabregas when he's at Arsenal. They get him back now they want something else.

Fabregas only lost the ball a bit more than Iniesta whilst having a lot more end product. Its mainly down to Fabregas trying to make more happen than Xavi and Iniesta and him operating further forward where its a lot harder to keep the ball with defenders snapping at you rather than the middle of the pich
 
Ekeke said:
Barcelona have no idea what they want. They have Eto'o scoring lots of goals, they wanted Villa instead. Couldnt get him, blow a load on Ibrahimovic. Dont like that, go back to Villa. Play him on the left. Dont like that, sign Alexis. They want Fabregas when he's at Arsenal.
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You can thank Pep Guardiola for all that.
 
Ekeke said:
Fabregas only lost the ball a bit more than Iniesta whilst having a lot more end product. Its mainly down to Fabregas trying to make more happen than Xavi and Iniesta and him operating further forward where its a lot harder to keep the ball with defenders snapping at you rather than the middle of the pich
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I expect Rakitic to play a similar role to what Fabregas played at Barcelona. In this case, I don't know how Rakitic is a better option than Fabregas is.

Also, Luis Enrique is not as strict on possession play and safe uses of the football as Guardiola was. Enrique's football setup is more expansive and direct than Guardiola. This should be good for players like Rakitic and Fabregas as both are direct and risky in their game.

Still, I don't know why they are letting go of Fabregas and replacing him with Rakitic. Rakitic may have had a better season(s), but ability-wise, Fabregas is better than Rakitic, IMO.
 
mazhar13 said:
I expect Rakitic to play a similar role to what Fabregas played at Barcelona. In this case, I don't know how Rakitic is a better option than Fabregas is.

Also, Luis Enrique is not as strict on possession play and safe uses of the football as Guardiola was. Enrique's football setup is more expansive and direct than Guardiola. This should be good for players like Rakitic and Fabregas as both are direct and risky in their game.

Still, I don't know why they are letting go of Fabregas and replacing him with Rakitic. Rakitic may have had a better season(s), but ability-wise, Fabregas is better than Rakitic, IMO.
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I agree that Cesc has more ability than Rakitic, and I'm kinda wondering whether it's a positive switch too, but I can see some reasons why. One being that they'll make money on the switch, another reason is probably that they're fed up on Cesc's form disappearing after Christmas/in big games and another is that Cesc probably wants to leave too.
 
louvega said:
You can thank Pep Guardiola for all that.
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Not really. In Spain the Club Presidents are the ones that secure the players, the managers just ask for players in certain positions and pick the team and tactics. Its then left for the Club President to go talk to clubs and players and try to sign them, if they dont find an agreement he'll find an alternative like with Ibrahimovic when Valencia weren't letting Villa go for what Barcelona wanted.

Its continuing even now without Guardiola, after Sanchez finally came good this season after looking completely out of place previously. He's had a good season you still have Barcelona fans coming here saying he doesn't fit in and perhaps being available this summer.

In a normal club without nonsense pretentious standards it'd simply be a case of saying Sanchez did well for us this season so we're happy to have him
 
Ekeke said:
Barcelona have no idea what they want. They have Eto'o scoring lots of goals, they wanted Villa instead. Couldnt get him, blow a load on Ibrahimovic. Dont like that, go back to Villa. Play him on the left. Dont like that, sign Alexis. They want Fabregas when he's at Arsenal. They get him back now they want something else.

Fabregas only lost the ball a bit more than Iniesta whilst having a lot more end product. Its mainly down to Fabregas trying to make more happen than Xavi and Iniesta and him operating further forward where its a lot harder to keep the ball with defenders snapping at you rather than the middle of the pich
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Are you saying Cesc is on Par or better than Iniesta?
 
Ekeke said:
Not really. In Spain the Club Presidents are the ones that secure the players, the managers just ask for players in certain positions and pick the team and tactics. Its then left for the Club President to go talk to clubs and players and try to sign them, if they dont find an agreement he'll find an alternative like with Ibrahimovic when Valencia weren't letting Villa go for what Barcelona wanted.

Its continuing even now without Guardiola, after Sanchez finally came good this season after looking completely out of place previously. He's had a good season you still have Barcelona fans coming here saying he doesn't fit in and perhaps being available this summer.

In a normal club without nonsense pretentious standards it'd simply be a case of saying Sanchez did well for us this season so we're happy to have him
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Most issues with Etoo, Villa, Ibra, Cesc, Alexis, Touré, etc.. all have Guardiola involved. Ibra and Etoo left because Pep forced them out, Villa and Alexis were brought in and played out of position because of Pep wanted it, Cesc was brought in when not needed because Pep wanted him, etc. The players he wanted came (when possible) and the players he didn't want were kicked out even losing lots of money in the process. And it worked great for the most part.

Anybody can see Alexis doesn't fit at all with Barcelona's position/possession style, at least as a winger with no spaces most of the times. Luckily, the guy is a monster player in his own way and can still provide excellent output in the worst circumstances. He needs spaces and complete freedom, and Barcelona's style doesn't usually provide him that.

Barcelona's 'nonsense pretentious standards' are nothing else but a style of play they want to keep and develop, and try to look for the best pieces that fit in.
 
louvega said:
Most issues with Etoo, Villa, Ibra, Cesc, Alexis, Touré, etc.. all have Guardiola involved. Ibra and Etoo left because Pep forced them out, Villa and Alexis were brought in and played out of position because of Pep wanted it, Cesc was brought in when not needed because Pep wanted him, etc. The players he wanted came (when possible) and the players he didn't want were kicked out even losing lots of money in the process. And it worked great for the most part.

Anybody can see Alexis doesn't fit at all with Barcelona's position/possession style, at least as a winger with no spaces most of the times. Luckily, the guy is a monster player in his own way and can still provide excellent output in the worst circumstances. He needs spaces and complete freedom, and Barcelona's style doesn't usually provide him that.

Barcelona's 'nonsense pretentious standards' are nothing else but a style of play they want to keep and develop, and try to look for the best pieces that fit in.
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Barcelona dont need more possession, thats not where they've come up short. The end product hasn't been as good as previous seasons and the defence has been even shakier than normal. Luckily Sanchez helped them out in attack, same with Fabregas. Two players getting stick because they made things happen.

The "style" is oversaturating what they are already good at, making it less effective and harder work to be successful with it.

Its true Sanchez is more direct, so was Villa and having him on the left was one reason the system worked.

Barcelona struggle when they offer no direct threat
 
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Reports in Spain that Barcelona will meet Sevilla tomorrow to agree terms, which may include a player exchange with Denis Suarez going to Sevilla.
 
jojojo said:
Reports in Spain that Barcelona will meet Sevilla tomorrow to agree terms, which may include a player exchange with Denis Suarez going to Sevilla.
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On loan or did he not play well for Barcelona B this season?
 
Bob Loblaw said:
On loan or did he not play well for Barcelona B this season?
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I don't know. He seems too young to leave, unless they stick a buy back clause in the deal, but who knows. One of the gossip press said Barca offered Afellay, and Sevilla asked for Suarez instead. At any rate the rumours are strong enough to assume there's a negotiation underway.
 
RAC1 are reporting that Denis Suarez will go to Sevilla on loan as part of the deal, and that the Rakitic to Barcelona deal itself is imminent.
 
I remember Brwned asking about whether Rakitic exploded or just improved.

The season before last he was one of the best attacking midfielders in La Liga. When Navas and Negredo signed for City I made the point that they werent even Sevilla's best two players because Rakitic had the best season of any Sevilla player. So he went into last season already having established himself as one of the better players in the league and a more important one to keep than Navas or Negredo.

One of the big factors was that Sevilla moved him out of the hole and into central midfield for a while. He showed he could still maintain good productivity offensively even though he was playing deeper, which a lot of players struggle with. Later in the season Sevilla went back to using him in the hole in almost every important match but I think showing that extra versatility was important for his profile and probably helped convince Barcelona and Madrid that he could work in their systems. I want to say that his productivity is probably just improvement on last season rather than exploding, he was already quite decisive and dangerous in the final third.
 
Deal will be announced tomorrow, he will have a medical at our camp in Brasil.

As far as Croatian football goes terrific news. Next year's Classico will be interesting to watch, Luka at one and Raketa at the other side. :)
 
ugh fabregas to Chelsea and Rakitic to Barcelona, but again no quality midfielder for United. Starting to believe we are cursed somehow !
 
jojojo said:
RAC1 are reporting that Denis Suarez will go to Sevilla on loan as part of the deal, and that the Rakitic to Barcelona deal itself is imminent.
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Yup, Denis tonight in Sevilla. Medicals supposed to be tomorrow to close the deal.

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Tonight was the first time I have seen the guy play. He certainly looked the part. Was pretty composed for the majority of the game.
 
Knew he'd have a brilliant tournament and knew he'd be snapped up by a big club. Such a good player.
 
Thought he was quite susceptible defensively, but in his defence, the midfield Croatia started was quite unbalanced, with Kovacic, Modric and Rakitic himself all forward-thinking players. Modric has a very secure defensive game, but thrives better alongside a physical presence and Kovacic played very advanced and was overawed.

Still, some of Rakitic's passing both short and long, was superb. Very classy player.
 
jojojo said:
I don't know. He seems too young to leave, unless they stick a buy back clause in the deal, but who knows. One of the gossip press said Barca offered Afellay, and Sevilla asked for Suarez instead. At any rate the rumours are strong enough to assume there's a negotiation underway.
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I still haven't read a confirmation of what sort of clause for buying may have been included in the deal for Suarez. Different reports give conflicting accounts of it. The player himself, who had a great season with the B team, has been emphatic that he wants to succeed at Barcelona. His signing from City included not only a buyback option for them but a guarantee of 1st team promotion for the 2014-15 season - which he gets with the move.

If there's no buyback option for Sevilla, all the better in terms of the overall deal but if there is, I am pretty confident a clause will also be in there for Barcelona to block Sevilla's purchase via an add on fee which would boost the Rakitic deal higher
 
As good as Modric and Rakitic are I thought they would have done better against a pretty average Brazilian midfield.
 
How did they manage to sign him for so little? Does he have only a year left on his contract or something?
 
antihenry said:
How did they manage to sign him for so little? Does he have only a year left on his contract or something?
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That's it, yeah. To be honest I think he's been a bit sly, he agreed an extension months ago with a very reasonable buy-out clause from his point of view (but one that's still higher that what Sevilla will receive now) then never ended up signing it, costing Sevilla millions.
 
Bob Loblaw said:
That's it, yeah. To be honest I think he's been a bit sly, he agreed an extension months ago with a very reasonable buy-out clause from his point of view (but one that's still higher that what Sevilla will receive now) then never ended up signing it, costing Sevilla millions.
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Sevilla owe him money. We don't know the number, but part of this deal is them not paying their debt to the player.
 
Local press are reporting deal signed today, maybe announced later. 18m + variables and Denis Suarez loan for 2 seasons. No official announcement yet.
 
Yep; reports in Spanish press going around that it could be as low as €18m.
 
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