Messi

Barça continues to be a Circus.

March 4, 2020March 3, 2020 by Ibrahim Ayyub

Although the circus no longer comes to town, Barça have a done a great job in making sure the circus is still alive and well for the entire football world. The month of February saw the Barça board and the team perform quite a few circus acts. Consequentially, that caused mixed emotions from the Blaugrana fans and followers consisting of eye-rolls, anger and bitter disappointment. It all started in early February when Barça’s sporting director, Eric Abidal said in an …

Barça, Just OK is Not OK!

November 12, 2019November 11, 2019 by Ibrahim Ayyub

FC Barcelona are in first place in both the Spanish League and in their Champions League group. Even though they look good in the standings, their performance hasn’t been good at all. Barça still have issues to resolve and hopefully they can get it together after the international break or else we risk witnessing another disappointing season. Even though the results do not show it, Barça keep regressing under Ernesto Valverde. The defense keeps leaking goals and the offense looks …

Barça Should Always Have Faith In La Masia

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 by Ibrahim Ayyub

History has shown that Barça’s success has been a result of having a team consisting of superstars with La Masia players on the pitch. Although the club seemed to drift from that policy and solely focus on signing players, the club seems to be steering itself on the right path again by calling up La Masia players once again. Hopefully that trend continues after the fine performances of some of the rising stars of La Masia. Ansu Fati has been …

Barça’s Messi and de Jong UEFA awards winners.

August 30, 2019August 29, 2019 by Ibrahim Ayyub

FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong were winners today as they were both selected as Champions League Midfielder and Champions League Forward of the Season respectively in last season’s Champions League. The players were present for the UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was named as Champions League defender of the Season and also the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the award. Van Dijk’s Liverpool …

Does Barça need Neymar or does Neymar need Barça?

July 22, 2019July 5, 2019 by Ibrahim Ayyub

Summer is upon us again which could only mean one thing; summer transfer gossip. The latest transfer rumor is Neymar returning to the Blaugrana just two years after paying his way out to join Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar’s exit right before the season was going to kick off left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Barça fans and the club’s directors. It seems now that Neymar has discovered the grass was not greener on the French side and he …

The Coutinho Dilemma.

July 22, 2019January 26, 2019 by Ibrahim Ayyub

On January 6, 2018, Barça signed Coutinho from Liverpool for €160 million, making him the most expensive transfer in club history, and the Brazilian star signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with a buyout clause of €400 million. His arrival was welcomed by many Blaugrana faithful as part of Barça’s plan to build another great team for many years to come. Unfortunately, a year has since passed and not only has Coutinho failed to impress on the pitch, he is not even …

Barça’s worst enemy continues to be themselves.

July 22, 2019January 6, 2019 by Ibrahim Ayyub

The winter break is over and Barça will be back in action as they resume their pursuit in conquering all three competitions. Their path consists of the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla in Spain, while battling Lyon and the other remaining clubs in the Champions League. However, the Blaugrana need to come to grips with their worst enemy; themselves. The club’s start to the 2018-2019 season has been exceptional thus far. Barça sit atop of the league …

Messi still the best sans Ballon d’Or.

July 22, 2019December 8, 2018 by Ibrahim Ayyub

It’s that time of the year where the Ballon d’Or is presented to the best player in the world. Once again, Messi was not the winner. It was no surprise that someone else won the award, and this year, the winner of the Ballon d’Or was Luka Modrić. The only thing that was surprising was seeing Messi finish fifth in the voting which was an insult to a player of such magnitude. Messi will always be the best footballer on …

Time for Barça To Step Up.

July 22, 2019October 24, 2018 by Ibrahim Ayyub

Messi’s injury means that the Blaugrana will be without their leader for a few weeks. This is the time for both the manager and the players to step up. They must seize this opportunity and make the most of it. Rarely is an injury a blessing in disguise, but perhaps Messi’s injury can be used by Valverde and the players to step up and be less dependent on Messi. Messi’s injury is a short-term injury but the Blaugrana have the …

Time for Barça to get it right.

July 22, 2019August 12, 2018 by Ibrahim Ayyub

Barça ended the season with another domestic double under new manager Ernesto Valverde. However, instead of celebrating this achievement, many of the Blaugrana faithful felt disappointed. Many would consider a domestic double a resounding success. However, their lack of success in Europe, whereas their arch rivals celebrated a three-peat was a reminder of Barça’s underachieving while wasting the talent of its best players. Lessons have to be learned from past mistakes in order for Barça to improve. A team that …

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