A Cule's Words

 Sevilla : Sevilla has been a constant performer in La Liga, Europa League and the cup competitions for a very long time. Although they haven’t been the best side in the Champions league or the league, they have certainly been consistent in their approach and dignity. It has always been a challenge to visit the Ramon Sanchez, and in my opinion, even more harder than the Mestalla.  Trophies-  UEL - 4 ( 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019) 1 Teresa Herrera Trophy 1 Trofeo de la Sal 1 Antonio Camacho Memorial 1 Costa Brava Trophy 1 Supercopa Euroamericana 4 Antonio Puerta Trophy 1 Achille & Cesare Bartolotti Trophy.  Runners up-  2 Copa Del Rey 3 Supercopa De Espana 4 Uefa Super Cup Yeah, not very decorated. But they still find themselves in this list because they play good football and have played for a while now. They are the best average team in the world because La Liga is very competitive. They usually finish in the top 6 but they are better than that... in your face p...

 1. Kimmich is the best midfielder right now.  I have said this many times, and I will say it again. He is better than De Bryune, better than Muller, better than Thiago, better than De Jong. He is the best midfielder right now.  2. Man City is still better than Liverpool.  Okay, they won the premier league with record distance. They won the premier league with the most games to spare. But, the way they play is far off worse than Man City. They have been consistent and what I mean by that is that they have been consistent in finding a way to win in a match that they did not deserve to. The same would go for the Real Madrid side for the last  5 years. But they were better.  3. Bundesliga is not an inferior league. Farmer’s league, as the legends say it. Rubbish. They haven’t seen Bundesliga then. The attacking is better than Premier League, defending is average, but who cares ? Midfields are on par with La Liga (maybe not) 4. Mbappe isn’t all that great....

 This is gonna get a bit footbally, beware.  Now, when Barcelona are in the possession of the ball, Barcelona need to be direct and attacking in their approach, which they have lacked in the past few seasons. For that, they will more numbers behind the ball. First of all, we need to have better full backs, and rather than splurging on Lautaro Martinez, we should get someone like Grimaldo or Hernandez. Now, for the formation, we know our strengths, we are better when in control, we need to improve without it. But still, the famous 433 with crowded midfield is here- Now, for the time when we do not have the ball, we need to be on our toes, to track back and defend, and we need to crowd the midfield even more. We need to switch to a 343 with Riqui keeping the tempo in the center and Semedo and Jordi pushing forward to win back the ball. Then De Jong can drop deep to help the center backs and essentially, we’ll be forming a back 5. Provided the ball is still in their half and we c...

 Considering Messi moves to Barcelona La Liga- 1st- F. C. Barcelona  Top 4- Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla . Top Scorer- Antoine Griezmann Relegation- Cadiz, Elche and Huesca Top Assist- Eden Hazard Europa League- Valencia and Real Betis Premier League- 1st- Man City Top 4- Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea. Top Scorer- Lionel Messi Relegation- Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Fulham. Top Assist- Lionel Messi  Europa League- Arsenal and Leeds United . Yes, I can do that sometimes. Bundesliga -  1st- Bayern Munich  Top 4- Borrusia Dortmund, Bayer  Leverkusen, RB Leipzig  Top Scorer- Robert Lewandowski Relegation- Arminia  Bielefeld, Augsburg  Top Assist- Joshua Kimmich Europa League- Eintracht Frankfurt  Serie A- 1st- Inter Top 4- Juventus, Atalanta, Napoli. Top Scorer- Cristiano Ronaldo Relegation- Special, Torino and Genoa. Top Assist- Paulo Dybala Europa League-Fiorentina and Milan Ligue 1- 1st- Paris Saint Germain  Top 3-...

 However greatly we talk of FC Barcelona and it’s legacy, Barca depend heavily upon the exploits of Lionel Messi.  After Messi leaves, which doesn’t seem to be far fetched, Barcelona will never be the same. Well, then how will it be ? 1. The conservative approach (recommended)  Barcelona, whether like it or not, are at a moment in time when they need to wait for the success to come back to the camp nou. This may take a season, two seasons, or even three seasons, depending on the factors, including the coach’s mentality. And I may be betting a bit too much, but Koeman is gonna turn this team into a machine and we’ll be competing for the trophies from 2021-22 season. The next season should be that of little chaos at the club, running smoothly, finishing in the top 2 in la ligament, maintaining the quarter final haul in the UCL and simply having a mediocre season. It should ideally look like this - Ter Stegen, Semedo, Lenglet, Garcia, Angelino, De Jong, Wijnaldum (I am stron...

There is a constant rumour of Messi leaving now, and that leaves us with this question-  A team that was so heavily relying on Messi, can that team survive without Messi ? The disadvantages for the club are pretty obvious-  1. The transition won't be smooth. There will be few trophyless seasons before returning as the top dogs, and will hurt.  2. The club's image may get a bit rusty. There are a few reasons to it. Firstly, they won't exactly be racking up points and winning everything, so naturally will be a less 'bigger club', secondly, they will have this history attached to them, of not treating their players well, Suarez, Messi, Coutinho, all were handled very unprofessionally.  The advantages are present, contrary to popular belief.  1. Young players will get better chances. Players like Trincao, Ansu, Pedri, Puig will have better chances to flourish and more importantly, they will not be under pressure to win every match against, let's say Real Madrid or e...

 Lionel Messi declared he wants to leave F.C. Barcelona. After the absolute shock that it was, Barcelona turned out to be those devils who became hungry for money. They want upwards of 250 million to consider the offer. Are they really that heartless ? A man who served them for nineteen years, now wants to leave and you want to take that decision off him ? Chances are, we might see a legal battle between Messi and Barcelona. This is so heart wrenching to hear. No one should be saying that, but just imagine... That would be the darkest day in the history of F.C. Barcelona.  There are various factors that we need to consider though... 1. What does he require to stay ? 2. Where will he go ? 3. How will he leave (the contract) ? 1.-  It was previously reported that Messi wanted a good project, along with the resignation of Bartomeu to stay, however, apart from that not happening, he even thinks Koeman is not good enough ! It's heavily reported, that Koeman only told Suarez ab...

 There were many reports regarding the future of some veterans yesterday, so let's look at them.. 1. Suarez, Vidal and Rakitic informed they can go-                     I am not very confident about this one. How will a new coach just tell three veterans to go away? However, it seems that it is true, because two or three reports suggested this. This could very well be truth.... Now, I am not against selling any one of these, but Suarez deserves some kind of farewell. He should depart with dignity. This is all fine and as we expected, veterans leaving the team. The most important thing is, we have not found a suitable replacement for Suarez.. Yes, Griezmann or Messi could play there, but they are very diiferent players. Only Koeman knows what's going on. 2. Manchester United want Ansu Fati for 156 million Euros-                    This is ridiculous... Man United willin...

 The UCL Final-                So, here we are, more than a year after the official start of the season, the 2019-20 season has come to an end. Bayern are the latest treble winners and certainly the most dominant side in world football. What happened yesterday though ? The first half was nice to see, both sides attacking and Paris, in my not so humble opinion, being the better side for majority of the first 45. I have got to applaud Manuel Neuer here. That man is the reason Bayern are not crying over bad first half performance. Any other goalkeeper there, on a day other than their extraordinaire, would have conceded at least two goals. And that Mbappe shot ? Oh no.                 Neymar was BRILLIANT for the first hour. He pressed like an animal. A total beast. The thing I was worried of, was that neither Di Maria nor Mbappe were helping him. No output from either of them, making grave e...

 On August the third, 2017, Neymar, after being touted to become the 'second Messi' at FC Barcelona, Neymar moved to Paris Saint Germain.  Neymar had finished third in the Balon D'Or rankings in two seasons of the last three seasons at Barca. A world record fee of 222 million Euros. Everything was set for Neymar. He just had to play good. But instead, he fell into the clutches of injuries and everybody thought, his career is over, he should not have left Barcelona and so on and so forth. This year however, he has shown what he can do on a football pitch. He has been arguably the best player in the world since the restart. His movement, dribbling and passing have been out of this world.  Story-  Neymar was scouted by Barcelona after his brilliant performances with Santos F.C..  He arguably had the best time, both professionally and personally in Barcelona. There are many memories, the treble, the MSN, the REMONTADA, yes even he regarded it to be his best memory "...

 Many sources claim Messi and other veterans are on their way out of the club.  This is not yet confirmed but we are likely to see a huge overhaul, if not this year, next couple of years, but we are going to see a change. The question is, can we change our fortunes, while keeping the veterans ?  Short Anser- No, not even Messi.  Long Answer-           Sergio Busquets, Gerrard Pique, Lionel Messi, Sergi Roberto, Jordi Alba, Luis suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and maybe I missed one or two, are all on the wrong side of thirty. They are still good, no denying it, but are not good enough to compete at the highest level. Especially the intensity is a big problem for the older players.               Now, the problem is, Koeman wants to build team around Messi. That is ridiculous. Messi is 33, never ever have I seen such things going on. A thirty three year old player, no matter who that is, can ...

 The Balon D'Or has been cancelled for the first time in it's history.                     There have been many great players who have been awarded this prestigious award. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Cannavaro among others. There has been a sense of beauty in many players who have won it. Many players, coaches, pundits and others think Lewandowski would have won it this year, should it have been awarded. But, if one thinks of it, when was the last time a traditional number nine won the award? Lewndowski is a great player, but is he the kind of player who wins balon d'ors ? Not in my opinion. The strikers who won it had a certain flair and beauty in their game. While Lewndowski has scored for fun, he has not been beautiful to watch. I would rather see Muller and Kimmich than Lewa to be honest, and that's the thing. Are we going to award the award for best player to the best goalscorer...

 Koeman has been appointed as the next F.C. Barcelona following the sack of Quique Setien. There have been promises from the board of changes. And there are some changes made. But, are they good enough ? Let's see. The Appointment of Koeman-          I think Koeman is a good coach. He has turned Netherlands into giants again and he can dothe same to Barca, provided he is given support of the club. His playing philosophy is clear and evident in the Netherland's national team and I would like to see that implemented to Barcelona, the team revolving around young talents and constant passing. This all perfectly compliments Barcelona. This could well be a good appointment, but it may be bad too. Like Setien, he has been accused of having no plan B and being passive during games. This can hurt Barcelona.  The sacking of Eric Abidal-               Not necessarily something I was begging, but I heard a lot of stuff ...

 There are loads of quality players out there, but only a bunch of them stand apart from the rest. This is inevitably due to their consistency. We will try to pick out the best age group out of these three- Below 24, 24-30 and above 30.   Today's the day. We'll lineup the best XI on the planet and decide upon the most dominant age group in that XI.  Jan Oblak-            He is clearly the best goalkeeper in the world. His shot-stopping abilities are unparalleled and he is as consistent as one can get.  Ricardo Perreira-          This might be controvercial, but he has been good both defensively and in attack. While TAA has arguably been better at attacking, his defense needs to improve to make this list.  Van Dijk-          He has been arguably the best center back for two years now, so it is safe to include him here. I guess nobody is questioning it.  Sergio Ramos-...

 There are loads of quality players out there, but only a bunch of them stand apart from the rest. This is inevitably due to their consistency. We will try to pick out the best age group out of these three- Below 24, 24-30 and above 30.   First of all, let's lineup our XI for the separate age groups. For Today, 30+ We'll be having a 4-2-4 today. Manuel Neuer -           At the ripe age of 34, Manuel Neuer is more than just a decent goalkeeper. His technical ability is unquestioned, along with his shotstopping skills, which have improve from the last couple of seasons. He has grown mature in a good way, which is always a good sign in goalkeepers.  Dani Alves-           HOW CAN A PLAYER FROM LOWER LEAGUES TAKE A SPOT ? Relax, it is the most decorated player in the history of the sport we are talking about. He is still capable of taking the right back spot in any top team, bar none. He is too good a player not ...

 There are loads of quality players out there, but only a bunch of them stand apart from the rest. This is inevitably due to their consistency. We will try to pick out the best age group out of these three- Below 24, 24-30 and above 30.   First of all, let's lineup our XI for the separate age groups. For Today, 24- 30 - Jan Oblak-            Hardest position to aappoint, but thankfully we had Jan Oblak, who is, according to me, a step above everybody else in terms of pure goalkeeping. He is also decent in possession, maybe not pinging straight on the foot of Felix every ten minutes, but decent enough to not give away chances.  Ricardo Perreira-           The leicester Right back has been a dominant force and deserves to be on this list. He is very good at defending, his 4.3 tackles a game speaks volumes about that, and is very fast too. He can cross well and has contributed 2 assists to his team....

 We Ship Eight.          1.Things need to change, and fast.          2. Setien needs to go.          3. Busquets, Pique, Jordi Alba, Roberto, Suarez need to be options, not starters.          4. I will be a little harsh today.          5. We will talk what went wrong           6. We will talk about how it should have been done          7. We will talk about what needs to be done.          8. Player Ratings and some random things. 1. That's fairly obvious, you don't go screaming after losing 8-2 2. Now, before this match, I thought he was at least tactically good, if not proactive. As soon as I knew the lineup he'd given, I knew he was utter shit. He tells his players to play out from the back with players like Vidal and Roberto in the midfield ? Not happening. I told we'll need pa...

 There are loads of quality players out there, but only a bunch of them stand apart from the rest. This is inevitably due to their consistency. We will try to pick out the best age group out of these three- Below 24, 24-30 and above 30.   First of all, let's lineup our XI for the separate age groups. For Today, Under 24- Gianluigi Donnarumma          Obviously it is the Milan man between the sticks. He has been a starter for a club of Milan's level (Pretty decent level) since the age of 16 (!) that's young. And this year, more than ever, he has gotten to that level where we can safely say he's here to stay. Stopping penalties, brilliant saves and a decent distribution sees him as the best goalkeeper out there.  Trent Alexander Arnold-           He is possibly the best Right Back in the world and certainly the best under 24. Record number of assists for a defender, brilliant crossing and freekicks, great passing a...

 Bayern have such a great squad that picking four above others seems injustice. Still, I will try. These are strictly according to me. Let's begin! 1. Joshua Kimmich- The best player in Bayern's team that will kick Barcelona is Kimmich, especially if Odriozola or Pavard return. While this seems unlikely, it can still happen and then, Barcelona won't have an easy route to semi finals. Joshua Kimmich is the best midfielder in the world right now. (according to me) He is almost a routine presence in Bayern's lineup, with minutes only less than Neuer. Now, he is a defensive midfielder when he does play in midfield, and his stats are incredible. He averages 1.5 tackles every 90 minutes, almost an interception every match, 76 passes with 90 % accuracy, 2.2 key passes and 0.6 dribbles. To go with this, he has 6 goals and 7 assists. These are outrageous numbers, and stats can't even justify what his presence brings to the team. Dynamism, Physicality and a certain organisati...

 Barcelona are not used to being the underdogs, but they are. So, First let's take a look at the lineup we already discussed.  Lineup- Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Puig, Messi, Dembele, Suarez, Ansu Fati In this matchup, more than ever, we require strong performances from every player on the field. We need good passing, dribbling, shooting, defending and above all, we need determination and confidence. This Bayern team has, in almost every position, equally good or better players than us. This is certainly not ideal. We need to change our style if needed. Yes, I would not like to see it either, but this is Champion's League. We need to win it. We do not have enough time to make our players so good at passing and keeping the ball that we outplay Ba yern o r Man City. So, we need to be defensively solid and wide players need to pull off a brilliant day.  First Half We could also play De Jong in place of Busquets to add that dynamism to the midfield. M...

 It's no secret that Barcelona have spent big for some years and have failed miserably.  Barcelona have been linked to a few players recently, so let's dive in and see if they make sense from footballing point of view.  1. Neymar-  Yes, Bartomeu has ruled it out but what was the reason of wanting an irregular and clearly undisciplined player, even though he has a plethora of talent ? He is 27, he has already peaked and won't play half as good as he used to. It was clear to many cules but the board wanted make a marquee signing. Not particularly Barcelona like is it ?  2. Lautaro Martinez- A brilliant player and Messi himself compared him to Suarez. This is huge, but we need to understand that he is going to cost Barca north of 100 million Euros. This amount of money cannot be spent on a striker right now. We have a couple of positions which need to be dealt with before that and a hundred million just because we want to win the Champion's League when Messi is her...

 F.C. Barcelona welcomed S.S.C. Napoli at the Camp Nou, Barcelona.               First Half- Barca were troubled greatly in the first nine-ten minutes. After that, it was all Barcelona. Barcelona outplayed Napoli and there were glimpses of what Griezmann and Suarez could do together. Messi was phenomenal again, although our hearts skipped a beat watching him limping. Semedo, for me was the best player today, along with Frenkie De Jong. They really seemed to bring what was expected of them when they were signed. Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba were not as good as we would normally expect them to be, but they did not commit many mistakes. Ter Stegen did not have much to do, but distributed pretty fast and precisely. A good first half ended on a low though, as Napoli were awarded a penalty and Insigne tucked it away. 3-1 to Barcelona, including goals from Lenlet, Messi and Suarez(p). Another Messi goal was taken away due to slight handball which no...

                An inevitable truth, Messi is going to hang up his boots or look to tread pastures anew. This is more imminent now than ever before. So, what should our squad and lineup be ? Let's dive in. Squad-  GK-  1.Ter Stegen 2. Neto 3. Inaki Pena Right Back-  1. Nelson Semedo 2. Sergi Roberto Left Back- 1. Grimaldo 2. Junior Firpo Center Back-  1. Lenglet 2. Araujo 3. Eric Garcia Defensive Midfielder- 1. De Jong 2. Pjanic Or Oriol Busquets Central Midfielders- 1. Riqui Puig 2. Carles Alena 3. Alex Collado 4. Monchu Left Winger- 1. Ansu Fati 2. Pedri Right Winger-  1. Dembele 2. Trincao Striker/ False nines- 1. Hiroki Abe 2. Gustavo Maia 3. Diego Lopez There could be some players other than this, but no one can predict that. Lineup Ter Stegen, Semedo, Eric Garcia, Araujo, Grimaldo, De Jong, Puig, Collado, Ansu Fati, Dembele, Hiroki Abe That's it !

 Champion's League restarts today.                 There were several criticisms towards Setien for not using his substitutes well and we can only hope that the same does not carry forward. So, what should he do ? 1. Do not allow Suarez to play full games.                It is a well known fact that Suarez is not young and healthy, and still, he is one of the deadliest strikers in the world. This means we cannot afford to not play him, and we cannot afford to play him full match either, so the best solution would be for him and Griezmann to split minutes, sometimes Suarez starting and coming off, and sometimes vice versa. 2. Bring on fresh legs earlier               When the team is struggling, and we are forced to change things a bit, sometimes the best thing is to bring in a fresh player to add flair and energy. But, Setien has been too late to re...

Final-                Oh how sweet that night that would be when Barcelona fight for the trophy with big ears in Portugal, after defeating the best teams. Let's look at how we can actually conquer that night.  1. Paris Saint-Germain - The favorites to go through that group, although not in my view, Paris have some serious talent coming forward. Neymar, Mbappe, Icardi, Di Maria, Cavani can all rip through defenses. This is all fine, but they lack some depth in midfield, which is Barcelona's strongest point ( Or should be) Again, a good amount of defensive options and a decent goalkeeper make this a difficult team to beat. Neymar and Mbappe's attitude will leave a slender lead shattered. We need to outscore them, because there's no way we are keeping a cleansheet if they are in a good shape.  Lineup- Ter Stegen, Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Messi, Dembele, Ansu, Suarez  I hope I could have dropped Busquets, b...