gregorrin10
Senior Member
Nope.
Ernesto Valverde
- Thread starter Messigician
- Start date
Nope.
BBZ8800
Senior Member
Just to correct you, mate.
You probably meant 2003'.
Since in 2004/05 we played awesome under Rijkaard and won a title after 5 years and neutrals started to love Barca again in that season.
In 2003/04 we started bad with Rijkaard and Laporta but played awesome in the 2nd part of a season and almost won a title (ended 2nd behind Valencia).
A blast from the past, November 2004', Barca:Milan: (Milan will lose a final to Liverpool 3:3, later that season):
Sailor Mars
Well-known member
Isn't that the season that Edgar Davids' loan is given credit for turning the team around?
Raketa10
Senior Member
Yeah you are right. Since 2003.
BBZ8800
Senior Member
Yes:
Wikipedia said:
But, imo, it wasn't ONLY Davids. But he surely helped with his pitbull fighting spirit and workrate in midfield:
In a summer of 2003, Laporta was elected as a president.
Rijkaard was hired as a coach.
And we have just bought Ronaldinho.
A new coach and new players needed some time to click.
In that season, Rijkaard still had a team from the previous era with Saviola, Kluivert, Lucho, Cocu, Frank de Boer, so ti was hard.
Anyway, here are all of our La Liga goals from that season.
We started very bad and ended awesome in the 2nd part of a season:
Sailor Mars
Well-known member
The board did good work those 2 summers in turning over the team. Particularly in the summer of 2004
2003- Ronaldinho, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst.
2004- Etoo, Deco, Giuly, Belletti, Sylvinho, Larsson, Edmilson.
And the team had some good academy players in Valdes, Puyol, Xavi, Motta, Iniesta
2003- Ronaldinho, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst.
2004- Etoo, Deco, Giuly, Belletti, Sylvinho, Larsson, Edmilson.
And the team had some good academy players in Valdes, Puyol, Xavi, Motta, Iniesta
BBZ8800
Senior Member
True.
We talked about that in the past.
That team needed a rehaul.
Look at a team in a spring of 2003.
1 year later, we got rid of all these players:
GK Rustu, Bonano, Enke
Defenders: Reiziger, F. De Boer, Christanval, Andersson
Midfielders: Cocu, Davids, Lucho, Rochemback, Riquelme
Attackers: Kluivert, Overmars, Saviola, Quaresma, Luis Garcia, Geovanni Deiberson, Alfonso Perez
= 19 players sold
We got rid of ALL older players.
NONE of them was saved.
We kept only La Masia players and bought a new team, consisted of captains in their former teams:
Ronaldinho, World cup winner in 2002, a captain of Psg
Etoo, the best player of Mallorca
Guily, a captain of CL finalists Monaco
Larsson, the biggest legend in the world
Edmilson, a captain of Lyon
Marquez, a captain of Mexico
Deco, a captain of CL winners Porto
Davids was a true pitbull and a warrior.
Later Van Bommel, a captain of Netherlands, Psv and later Bayern.
Basically, we bought awesome players, who had a few things in common:
1. they were awesome
2. they haven't won too much and they were hungry
3. they were all true professionals and leaders/captains of their former teams
4. majority were smart (Belletti was questionable though)
Now, compare those transfers with current transfers:
Is Dembele smart, a leader, a professional or a fighter? Nothing.
Coutinho? The same.
Griezz is ok, but drained, a bad fit etc.
I often heard replies: we don't need leaders/captains, we are Barca.
Because during Pep we won without warriors.
Yeah, but that happened once and will happen never again.
Every winning team needs a mix of youth and experience.
A mix of technique and physique.
And some warriors and leaders.
Then compare it with a current transfer policy.
Imagine if we buy Neymar.
Is he young?
Is he a fighter?
Is he a leader?
He is probably better than Dembele/Cou/Griezz, but those are all players who would be never be bought by teams in 2005 or 2009, imo.
Who is a captain today?
A silent guy Messi?
Tennis player Pique?
Too nice guy Busi who never had a fight in his life?
Today we have only Vidal.
Imagine if we would have 3-4 players with Vidal's spirit in our team today (and Rijkaard's team had Valdes, Puyol, Marquez, Edmilson, Van Bommel, Ronnie, Etoo, Larsson, who were all more or less leaders), things would have been way better in tough moments.
Last edited:
jairzinho
Senior Member
There’s been no significant improvement in our gameplay imo. It’s the same sterile, pedestrian and clueless football relying almost entirely on individualism.
Unfortunately the board can’t see that since they know little of football themselves.
Last season there were numerous red flags in our tactics and general play. But since we were first in the league no one bothered too much.
Eventually, we got exposed in May by Liverpool and Valencia in a matter of weeks. Contrary to the deluded Abidal It was no accident. That was such a dumb thing for him to say. The warning signs were there all along and it’s STILL THERE.
Unfortunately the board can’t see that since they know little of football themselves.
Last season there were numerous red flags in our tactics and general play. But since we were first in the league no one bothered too much.
Eventually, we got exposed in May by Liverpool and Valencia in a matter of weeks. Contrary to the deluded Abidal It was no accident. That was such a dumb thing for him to say. The warning signs were there all along and it’s STILL THERE.
snowy
New member
Yeppp well... vets best wake up real quick and light the candles for a Santa Rally or it's gonna be red butts and red Xmas stockings jingling all the way till the fin line.
Next to our dull style, CRY the other day vs LIV looked sharper than a Hanzō sword
Vilarrubi
New member
messi2140
6racies Xavi
clemente
New member
He will make 80 mil per 3 years he was here, there is no way any other club gonna pay this weasel anything over 2m/season, he is 100% retired after this season, it makes sense why this shameless leech isn't resigning himself, pretty much everyone in this club is just here to drain the big wallet.
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