The lost star: Halilovic

It was March of 2014 when amidst the surprising and disappointing quietness that FC Barcelona management was maintaining in the transfer windows there came a name from the Croation lands 'Halilovic'. As is it is often done Catalan Press took no time in naming him 'the next Messi' which is enough to woo the Blaugranas.

"I didn't request his transfer,talks were going on before my arrival" Tata Martino was reported saying.

The kid was bought for 5 Million dollars from Dynamo and was initially seeded to the B team for a year. Due to his contract which guaranteed him promotion in just one year, Lucho and staff decided it would be best for him to continue his development at a Liga team. And was subsequently loaned to Gijon(club trusted by Enrique). He was part of 24 games in his time at Sporting where he gave fairly average performances throughout the season.
His return from the loan was where his agents tried to play the gambit for him, Now Barca either had to keep him or sell. Halilovic declined another loan spell which could've kept him in the Barca loop. Another spin was his wage demands. His agent tried to make sure the tag 'wonder kid' fully paid off. Valencia, Sevilla, Betis all rejected his offer citing the former condition. It was HambGermany where he finally landed getting Barca exactly what they bought him for i.e. 5 Million dollar.
It was the move that earned him stern reproachment from the Spanish Press and they were right, there was no coming back.
He had the worst time of his already fleeting career in Germany where he was involved in just 6 matches where his side lost 5 of it drawing once.
Now it's rumoured that Halilovic has approached Barca sporting director for help and is seeking a return to Liga where he hopes to again excel in what he's best at. It is important to note that Barca still holds the 10 Million buy back clause on the Croatian youngster and a packed midfield too.
Time will tell his final destination till then stay tuned to La Liga Cafe.

The Luis Enrique report by La Liga Cafe.

"Treble on his very first season" It is actually a big achievement for any manager and his team. Luis Enrique was the second manager from FC Barcelona to achieve this honour (after Pep). With him Barcelona even ended up winning 5 major trophies out of the possible 6 in the calendar year (2015). He was a hero for every Barca fan after that amazing season and he even got success in following season completing domestic double (La Liga and Copa Del Rey).  And after two great seasons expectations were high from every Blagurana fans in his third season in command.


Transfer Window
Luis Enrique is famous for his unpredictable and direct moves, which was seen on his transfer moves in this summer transfer window. So it was quite a busy summer for him as he brought 6 new players to strengthen the squad. Also big names like Dani alves, Marc Bartra, Claudio Bravo and Thomas Vermaelen (Loan), Douglas (Loan) departed with happy or unhappy faces. By signing Paco Alcácer from Valencia, Munir El Haddadi was subjected to move other way around for a season long loan spell, Sergi Samper to Granada was also his move for the youngster to develop and gain some first team minutes there.

Pre season 2016-17
Pre-season was full of high and lows for Lucho as he gave chances to La Masia players to shine and so their ability to break in in first team. Defeat against Liverpool was hard to accept for fans but the brighter side of it was that mixture of first team and La Masia players showed great chemistry in that game. Though it was not enough but at least not below par, which is always a good sign for a manager.



Season 2016-17
After great two previous seasons, expectations was high from FC Barcelona and specially from Luis Enrique.
Winning Super Cup de Espana against the newly appointed Sampaoli's side in Sevilla (5-0) was dream start for Luis Enrique & Co. but only loss was that Iniesta got injured in the first leg and was declared out for 3-4 weeks. They entered the La Liga with winning mentality and won fashionably (6-2) vs Real Betis. They also clinched the important away win at San Mames with help of Rakitic's rocket header. But they sufferrd a shock defeat of 1-2 against newly promoted side Alaves at home which was totally unexpected for the team and also for the manager. Lucho took the responsibilty for the loss and also stated that players played below their best which lost them vital three points. Barca came back stronger after that defeat and performed well in both competitions (La Liga & UCL) scoring 20 goals in 5 matches but that form also didn't last long and again this new style and midfield dilemma resulted in loss (4-3) against Celta de Vigo. Then Iniesta came back in starting 11 and gave barca the much needed form and team won 4 matches icluding 4-0 against Manchester City and important away win (2-3)at mestalla.

 In match against Valencia, Iniesta once again got injured just after 14 minutes following  a challenge from Enzo Perez, with Barca later confirming knee ligament damage for the midfielder. Which made Luis Enirque to shuffle his pack and find perfect replacement for "The Magician (Iniesta)" and the veteran gave chance to Denis Suarez and Andres Gomes to shine in absence of their captain but they couldn't perform as per par and which affected team at most and even with MSN Barca scored only 9 goals in 8 games. Also they dropped 6 points and now stands 2nd in the table with six points gap to their arch rivals Real Madrid.

Lucho on journey to find perfect midfield

Trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets took Barcelona to new heights under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012. Those days, however, are long gone. But also many new faces have come to retain the same magic with new style. Players like Euro Cup winner Andres Gomes, La Masia graduates  Denis Suarez, Rafinha and even Rakitic mighy not be capable enough to replace THAT trio but they can give much more under Luis Enrique.

After watching previous two seasons one can easily say that Lucho has changed barca's style of play with more direct approach towards goal and addition of long passes with their short passing aka "Tiki-Taka" to counter more often.
With Iniesta sidelined frequently through injury, Busquets below his best and Ivan Rakitic off colour as well, Barca's midfield has appeared ordinary in recent matches and this led Enrique to try 12 different combinations in midfield.
Lucho needed to find perfect combination of midfield which can easily cope up with this mixture of long-short passing style and he tried many different combinations. With Iniesta's golden era coming to end it is compulsory for barca to find a replacement of him and play as fluently as before with all other available players like Busquets, Rakitic, Denis, Rafinha, Turan and Gomes.
Till date most used midfield is Gomes, Busquets and Rakitic which has won only 2 matches out of 5 played together. But combo of Denis, Busquets and Rakitic has shown good quality in every game they played combined winning 3 out of 4.  This doesn't mean that Enrique will be satisfied, he always wants more from his players in each game.
Finding perfect combinations is neither easy nor fast, it takes time and also costs some points but it is in favor of club as a long term investment.

Sevilla vs Malaga Match Preview #Laliga

A match between team standing at  3rd and 11th is not attractive in other leagues but when it comes to La Liga, it not recommended to miss such match and specially when it includes a great quality team like Sevilla FC.
Sevilla FC topped the group stage in UCL which gave them boost in their performance to compete with two giants (FC Barcelona & Real Madrid) in La Liga race. And  yet they won (3-0) against Celta de Vigo last Sunday, which was very tight until break. Then manager Jorge Sampaoli sent Captain Iborra in for Argentine Pareja, who ended up unleashing a second half hat trick to take away the much needed three point in La Liga standings. Los Rojiblancos might be standing 3rd on table but they are not upto their best yet as they won only 2 in last 5 matches.

Talking about the visitors, Malaga winless in last three matches which includes two draws in last two matches. Juande Ramos’s men will come to Seville to win with their full strength. They were unlucky to draw last match, after taking the lead in 24th minute with help of cross from Roberto Roasales meeting Camacho’s head they conceded an own goal in a set-piece situation. Malaga were amazing on Friday but because of lack of awareness in set piece situation they have to satisfy with 1 point.

Sevilla vs Malaga is very exciting fixture as their head to head statistics are as follows
Sevilla Won 10 Lost 9 Draw 7 Avg Goals 1.4
Malaga Won 9 Lost 10 Draw 7 Avg Goals 1.3

Predicted line up
Sevilla (3-4-2-1)
Rico; Mercado, Pareja, Rami; Sarabia, N'Zonzi, Nasri, Mariano; Ben Yedder, Vazquez; Vitolo
Malaga (4-2-3-1)
Boyko; Torres, Villanueva, Rosales, Llorente; Juan Carlos, Juanpi; Fornals, Ontiveros, Camacho; Sandro

Preview: Sporting Gijon Vs Villarreal

Villarreal will look to end the year in grand style as they travel to the Estadio El Molinon to face Sporting Gijon. Villarreal coming back from an impressive home win against Atletico Madrid last Monday, and will be looking to end the year in the Uefa Champions League spot. Gijon on the other hand will be looking to leave the relegation spot needing just a point to leave that position ahead of the New Year.

Sporting Gijon have lost four (4) of their last five (5) games in all competitions and are will be looking for a turn around as they play host to the yellow submarines (Villarreal).

The Yellow Submarines are presently 4^th on the table with 26 points. A win will see them in 4^th while a loose or draw could see them drop as low as 6^th position going into the New Year. Villarreal has the best defence in the league just conceding 10 goals four fewer than league leaders Real Madrid and also 2^nd best defence in Europe just one more than Bayern Munich.                                                                                                                         Sporting Gijon is presently on 18^th position with 12points. A win or draw will see them leave the relegation zone but a loose will see them sink deeper.

Duje Cop is the player to watch out for Sporting as he has netted 6 goals in 15 matches and their assist King Moises Gomez with 4 assist this season. Nicola Sansone (5 goals) is Villarreal go to man in terms of goals this season after their star striker Roberto Soldado sustained an injury earlier this season.

HEAD TO HEAD:

RSG 2-0 VIL May 15, 2016.                                                                                                  VIL 2-0 RSG Jan 10, 2016.                                                                                                   VIL 2-1 RSG Mar 10, 2013.

Probable Lineup:

Sporting Gijon: Cuellar,Douglas,Babin,Amorebieta,Mere,Lopez,Carmona,Alvarez,Ait-Atmane,Gomez,Cop.

Villarreal: Asenjo,Gaspar,Ruiz,Gonzalez,Costa,R.Soriano,B.Soriano,Trigueros,DosSantos,Sansone,Pato.

SPORTING GIJON VS VILLARREAL

ESTADIO EL MOLINON

17/12/2016

1:00PM WAT 

Valencia in Relegation Battle

Valencia will look to make a statement win and move up the table on Saturday as the travel to San Sebastian to face Real Sociedad at the Estadio Anoeta( a place which gives Cules nightmares).Real Sociedad will also look to continue their impressive home form loosing just twice in their last seven there this season.

Real Sociedad are presently placed 6^th on the table with 23 points (7W 2D 5L) which is an impressive feat as they are playing really good football forgetting they lost their last game scandalously to Deportivo away 5-1. Valencia are presently placed 17^th on the table, the only thing saving them from a relegation spot is their goal difference (3W 3D 8L).

Valencia coach Cesare Prandelli told his players ‘ There is no room for excuses’ and they must stand up against adversities and fight to leave the relegation zone.’ Right now the team is thinking about the result and not about playing’ Prandelli told reporters. With that statement it is evident that we will see a different and more aggressive Valencia side as they push for an improved result.

With all said, Sociedad also are not a team that scares easily as they have taken points off Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at the Anoeta and they will continue to fight as they hope to get a spot in Europe (UCL Or UEL) next season.

Head to Head Record:

 VCF 0-1 RSO May 13, 2016                                                                                                      RSO 2-0 VCF Jan 10,2016                                                                                                 VCF 2-0 RSO Mar 1, 2015                                                                                                 RSO 1-0 VCF Mar 16, 2014

Probable Lineup:

Real Sociedad: Rulli,Martinez,Navas,Berchiche,C.Martinez,Illarramendi,Caneles,Prieto,WillianJose,Oyarzabal,Vela

Valencia:       DiegoAlves,Garay,Abdennour,Mangala,Parejo,Medran,Suarez,Gaya,Cancelo,Rodrigo,Munir.

REAL SOCIEDAD VS VALENCIA                                                               4:15PM WAT                                                                                         ESTADIO ANOETA

UCL Review: FC Barcelona vs Borussia MönchenGladbach

What an unforgettable night for Barcelona at Camp Nou as they went past the barrier and qualified for the CL Round of 16 finishing top of the group for a record 10th consecutive season in CL.

Messi tied on the 4th place with the Legendary Portuguese striker Eusebio (Benfica) for scoring the most no. of goals scored at one club after he scored his 473rd goal for FC Barcelona.

It was the 22nd game of the season and the first in which all the six new signings comprising Cillessen, Umtiti, Digne, Denis Suarez, André Gomes and the striker Paco Alcácer started together.


Many positives to take out from the game after the Spanish champions drew at home against the Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Barcelona set another record in UCL as 993 passes attempted by the reigning Spanish champions was the most in a single CL game since the stat was first recorded in the 2003/04 season - beating their own record of 971, set against Rubin Kazan back in 2010 at the height of Pep Guardiola's tiki-taka reign.

Barcelona displayed one of the finest performances this season without the likes of the first team regulars Neymar, Rakitic, Suárez, Pique, Ter Stegen, Busquets and Sergi Roberto.

As the duo of Neymar & Rakitic were suspended for the game, Suárez stayed on the bench
whole game to give Paco some first team playing time.
Whereas Pique, Roberto, Busquets and Ter Stegen were rested for the game.

Arda played brilliantly at left wing scoring his first ever Hattrick for Barcelona, and assisting one to Messi before halftime, the Turkish captain showed how important he is for Luis Enrique's side.

It was a game for Aleix Vidal to give his best in regaining the lost faith of the manager, which he impeccably showed with his performance assisting one and setting Denis Suarez to give another for Arda Turan, his pace at the wing and crosses were worth the appreciation from the manager after all the months he went without playing a single minute.

Vidal is all calm and happy for his future at the club after all the negativity he went through these past months,  "It would be stupid to want to leave this team," he said and he denied that he has a bad relationship with his manager: "Sometimes the press make things more difficult than they are. If there's a manager with whom you can change things, it's Luis Enrique."

Luis Enrique was full on praise for his player after the game, "Aleix Vidal has been spectacular with and without the ball, I am delighted."
"How many more players climb on the bandwagon much better".

UCL Preview: FC Barcelona vs Borussia M'Gladbach

Barcelona along with Manchester City from Group C have already qualified for the next stage in Champions league. On the other hand, Borussia M'Gladbach will play their last game in the champions league 2016/17 but will be fighting for their place in Europa League.


M'Gladbach have been winless in their last 7 games 3 lost and 2 drawn in 5 league games and 2 drawn in their last UCL games against City and Celtic.
The Foals are really having a bad run of form at the moment, they suffered the latest defeat against Borussia Dortmund this weekend.

Luis Enrique's Barcelona side have also not been in their best form either as they drew 4 in their last 5 games they played. latest being the 1-1 draw against Real Madrid.



Lucho will be coming up without the suspended duo of Rakitic and Neymar as well as the injured Jeremy Mathieu and even decided to give two important players Ter Stegen and Pique some rest before they face Osasuna this weekend.

Marc Cardona has been given a chance with the first team once again after he debuted last week against Hércules in Copa Del Rey.

Andre Schubert will be without their attacking midfielder L.Stindl after he was shown a second yellow against Manchester City.

Not much is there to say about Lionel Messi who is the Leading Goal scorer in Champions league for the home side with 9 goals in 4 games this season, he is in form in European Competitions this as he has already scored 2 hattricks and a brace in the 4 games he played.

The final Barcelona squad of 18 for tonight's game includes these players: Cillessen, Masip, Sergio, Denis, Arda, A.Iniesta, Suárez, Messi, Rafinha, Mascherano, Paco Alcácer, Jordi Alba, Digne, Sergi Roberto, André Gomes, Aleix Vidal, Umtiti and Cardona.

Predicted Lineups:

FC Barcelona: Cillessen ; Roberto, Mascherano, Umtiti, Digne ; Rafinha, Busquets, Iniesta ; Messi, Suárez, Arda.

M'Gladbach: Y.sommer ; N.Elvidi, Jantschke, Christensen, Wendt ; Hoffman, Strobl ; I.Traore, Schulz, Johnson; Raffel.

As things stand by now Schuber's side will be playing for pride and hope to gain at least a point against the Spanish champions, 0n the other hand Barcelona have nothing to lose from this game so Luis Enrique can also provide Paco Alcacer some minutes and even to Marc Cardona.

El CLASICO: BARCELONA VS REAL MADRID

"El clasico", the biggest club rivalry in the world of Football, is just around the corner and football fans around the globe are most excited about it as they will see twenty-two most talented footballers on one pitch, including two of the world's greatest players in Messi and Ronaldo. This time it will be the Defending Liga Champions Vs Current League Leaders.

Barcelona are entering this fixture with quite a dip in form after two consecutive draws in the league and probably their worst performance under Lucho at the anoeta. In contrast, Los Blancos are on an unbeaten run with amazing performances and will come to the Camp Nou with high spirits of getting all three points and extending their lead at the top.

Thankfully for cules, Iniesta has been seen in full training in their last session and also Lucho said that he will get some minutes against Real Madrid. It is more likely for Rakitic to start as he provides vertical runs to support attack and even covers the space for Messi in defense. Sergio Busquets is vital in Barcelona's system, he is the backbone of Barcelona midfield but he is not at his best these days, which is an advantage for Madrid's attackers to press him and counter attack directly from center rather than starting it from penalty area. And the defense line is also a point of concern for the Blaugrana side as Alba and Umtiti out with injuries so they have to come out with Digne at LB, who is less experienced in Liga but have shown glimpses of spectacular defending. Barcelona are likely to lineup with their standard eleven with the exception of Jordi Alba.

The virus of injuries has also affected the Real Madrid side as Bale and Kroos are out of squad, they overcame this blow which was clear in recent week’s performance. Vasquez and Kovacic have performed above their par in last 2-3 matches, which gives confidence to their gaffer and to the fans included. Also partnership of the Croatian duos Modric and kovacic has blossomed better than Kroos and Modric. Zidane will probably come out with 4-4-2 formation which gave them a big victory against their city rivals which will show us Isco partnering Croatians in defense and Vasquez partnering Benzema and Ronaldo in attack, from the midfield. Return of Pepe and Varane has caused selection dilemma for Zizou about who will partner Ramos but it’s obvious that it is going to be Pepe. Marcelo and Carvajal are obvious choices as full backs, which show’s that the visitors are coming with their full strength.

Key Battles:

Iniesta/Denis, Busi and Rakitic
 Vs
Kovacic, Modric and Isco

There’ll be an extra onus on Modric and Kovacic off the ball on Saturday, especially with the return of the Blaugrana Captain Iniesta. If the Los Blancos pair can hamper him on his comeback from injury and track the incisive vertical surges of Rakitic, they will surely come with counter attack they mostly rely on. Even kovacic can be vulnerable for Los Blancos as he has Messi on his wing to stop.

Marcelo vs Messi
Messi is very infamous for his defense work rate, which gives Marcelo's leverage to attack at the right wing against an inexperienced Sergi Roberto. But it is also possible that the Brazilian's offensive work will open up Messi to create match winning chance, so it will be a key battle to watch in this El Clasico.

Predicted Lineup :

FC Barcelona:
Ter stegen
Roberto Pique Mascherano Digne
Rakitic Busquets Iniesta
Messi Suarez Neymar

Real Madrid :
Navas
Carvajal  Ramos  Pepe Marcelo
 Modric  Kovacic
Vasquez      Isco
               Benzema  Ronaldo