<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/stoke-city-e1416432434207.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/stoke-city-e1416432434207.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-122234" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20141120_CMS_122101_stoke-city-600x400_aa3f8ff5.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=400" alt="stoke city" width="600" height="400"></a></figure>
The Potters have continued in their inconsistent start to the season and are yet to find their best form so far. In the five Premier League matches played in October and November, they won twice, lost twice and drew once, not forgetting their Capital One Cup misfortune at home to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/category/southampton/">Southampton</a>. The mixed results have seen Stoke go up and down the table, but they are perched in 9th place at the moment.
Best starting XI
<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/stoke.jpg"></a><figure class="image"><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/stoke.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-122233" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20141120_CMS_122101_stoke-600x675_97c7b723.webp&amp;width=439&amp;height=494" alt="stoke" width="439" height="494" srcset="https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/17045237/stoke-600x675.jpg 600w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/17045237/stoke-150x168.jpg 150w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/17045237/stoke-300x337.jpg 300w, https://images.futbolsites.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/11/17045237/stoke.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 439px) 100vw, 439px"></a></figure>
Best performer
Victor Moses. The on-loan Chelsea winger has continued to register good displays for his side in almost every single match. His direct pace and dribbling ability – only bettered by Eden Hazard – makes him a constant threat and fun to watch. Always looking to wreak havoc on the opposition, Moses will be key to his team’s fortunes this season. The rumor is that Stoke are keen to secure a permanent deal in January.
Most improved player
Bojan Kirkic. The 24-year-old Spaniard has endured a disappointing start to the season but he has shown signs of a renaissance in recent matches, especially against West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur where he put in man of the match performances. With the striker scoring his first Premier League goal at Spurs last Sunday, the expectation is that he can only get better in the coming weeks. Jon Walters also deserves a special mention after a massive improvement from him in the past few games.
Injury news
Mark Hughes’ side remain handicapped with several players on the treatment table. Peter Odemwingie is the major casualty and he will be out for an estimated seven months after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in September. Other casualties include Robert Huth, Glen Whelan, Phil Bardsley, Marc Wilson and D Teixeira all of whom are expected to have returned to action by the end of the month.&nbsp;
Managerial progress&nbsp;
Hughes has not done a lot wrong so far this season and I think he’s still the right man to lead the team to prosper, despite a not-so-convincing start to their 2014-15 campaign. He just needs to get his side to finding that consistency going forward, but that remains to be seen especially with games against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/category/liverpool/">Liverpool</a>, Arsenal and Manchester United on the horizon.
Weakness
Set-pieces. I mentioned this in my August-September report and apparently, nothing has changed since then. The Potters are the only team yet to score a league goal via a set-piece which shows how much the team has evolved since Mark Hughes came on the scene last year. Maybe they ought to get someone like Roy Delap in January.
January Transfer window needs
Stoke already have a fairly decent squad, especially going forward, so I see no reason to plunge into the January transfer market except if there’s another long-term injury.
Overall Team Rating (out of 5 stars):&nbsp;2.5/5.
It’s been a decent season thus far for Stoke, who many would consider a top half team nowadays. With attacking talent on display and that typically resilient defense they should be aiming for yet another highly credible top 10 finish.

Read Our Progress Report on Stoke City’s Performances for October-November

Read Our Progress Report on Stoke City's Performances for October-November - World Soccer Talk

<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20100520_CMS_72157_david-villa1-600x450_4ba1dea4.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=450" alt="david-villa" width="600" height="450" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-102754" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1-600x450.jpg 600w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1-150x112.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/05/david-villa1.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure>
The rumors, for once, came to fruition, as FC Barcelona will pay a transfer fee of €40 million to Valencia for Spanish international striker David Villa.&nbsp; This tango (or the sardana for a more local, Catalunyan flair) danced by the two clubs since the previous offseason will finally end as outgoing Barça president Joan Laporta landed the player he coveted for two years.
Surely, Barcelona signed Villa to be a starting forward, and his most effective position in that front line would be as the center forward of the three-pronged attack.&nbsp; With Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodríguez on either side of Villa, the Barcelona attacking machine will continue to operate as efficiently and dangerously as ever.
What does this mean for Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was supposed to be the answer in the center of Barcelona’s attack.&nbsp; In order to lure the Swedish hitman from Inter Milan, the Catalunyans spent a net total of&nbsp;€69 million (€46 million in cash, the transfer of Samuel Eto’o from Barça to Inter, valued at €20 million, and another €3 million to compensate for Alyaksandr Hleb refusing the transfer to Inter).
Ibrahimovic had the qualities that Eto’o supposedly lacked: the ability to hold the ball up for his teammates, the acumen to visualize the perfect pass before the action occurs, and the size to better compete for headers and ward off physical challenges.&nbsp; Even though Eto’o scored thirty goals and led the Pichichi race for top goalscorer most of the 2008-09 La Liga season until Diego Forlán surpassed him late in the season, the Barcelona staff felt they needed more from the center forward role than a pure poacher in the box, at which Eto’o was one of the best in the world.
Through the first few months of the season, Ibrahimovic made an immediate impact with the team, <a href="http://www.laligatalk.com/zlatan-ibrahimovic-a-mixed-bag-in-barcelonas-3-0-victory-over-sporting-gijon/1759">scoring in the first match of the season against Sporting Gijón</a>, <a href="http://www.laligatalk.com/zlatan-ibrahimovic-and-carles-puyol-the-differences-as-barcelona-edges-past-real-madrid/2364">providing the only goal in El Clásico against Real Madrid</a> in November after coming back from a hamstring injury, and netting twelve goals in his first nineteen matches in all competitions.
As the season wore on, however, his efficacy in front of goal dwindled considerably.&nbsp; The match against Real Zaragoza in March clearly showed how his confidence had dropped, when he fluffed three chances that Ibrahimovic would score on his worst days.&nbsp; He did score in that match but only because of a late penalty that Messi gave to him so that he could regain his confidence.
Aside from the first leg in the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Arsenal where he scored twice at the Emirates Stadium, he was noticeably absent both on and off the pitch in Barcelona’s most important matches.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola lost so much faith in Ibrahimovic at the climax of the campaign that in both legs of the Champions League semifinal against his former team Inter Milan, Guardiola substituted him in both matches at the hour mark because of his ineffectiveness.&nbsp; In La Liga, where Real Madrid kept the title race within three points until the final matchday, Guardiola favored Bojan Krkic over Ibrahimovic as the center forward.
Cumulatively, Ibrahimovic had twenty-one goals and ten assists in forty-one matches in all competitions, and while these are solid numbers for a player making his debut season in a new league and country, solid was not the expectation that the Blaugrana set for him.&nbsp; Replacing a Barça legend in Samuel Eto’o would always become an arduous task, and the Barça boardroom sent a message to Ibrahimovic that he did not fulfill what they envisaged for him with the signing of David Villa.
As any good agent should do, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent, Mino Raiola, tried to quell any sort of talk that the arrival of David Villa spelled the end for Ibrahimovic at the Camp Nou.&nbsp; In an interview with Calciomercato.it, Raiola reiterated his client’s standing with FC Barcelona:
<blockquote>“The club already said they were happy with Zlatan.&nbsp; Villa’s arrival has nothing to do with Ibra, and it does not put his stay in danger seeing that Villa can play well on the wings.&nbsp; He has a contract until 2014, and he is happy at Barcelona.”</blockquote>
As optimistic as that sounds, it could mean trouble for Pedro, Bojan, Jeffrén Suárez, and others in La Masia if Barcelona plans to keep both Ibrahimovic and Villa, but with Pedro breaking through with an outstanding season and Bojan filling Ibrahimovic’s shoes at the end of the season, it is highly doubtful that Barcelona, and specifically Pep Guardiola, would stunt the development of their own academy products in favor of Ibrahimovic.
One year for any player should not become the absolute barometer for what that player will do in the future.&nbsp; There is an endless amount of cases where players struggled in their first season only to recover and perform to their highest capabilities.&nbsp; In this day of immediate gratification and astronomical transfer fees, however, instantaneous results matter, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic has not given Barcelona what they wanted.&nbsp; If Barcelona did not make a move for Villa and Ibrahimovic was given a clean slate to go into his second season with Barcelona, a betting man would put his money on a highly successful season.
Barcelona is not a betting man and wanted reassurances with the signing of David Villa.&nbsp; When Barcelona sells Ibrahimovic, they will not nearly receive the value that they paid for Ibra, but they will listen to any offers that come their way.
The last opinion that Barcelona would want of themselves is that they are acting like Real Madrid in buying top talent for exorbitant prices, so a rotation that would bench Villa and Ibrahimovic for certain matches would only further this growing perception that Barcelona is turning into their eternal rivals.
Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, and now Barcelona.&nbsp; Four of the preeminent teams in European football, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could not establish a permanent home in any of those clubs.&nbsp; If a club can solve the enigma that is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he would become the most feared striker in the world.&nbsp; If.

What David Villa’s Transfer to FC Barcelona Means For Zlatan Ibrahimovic

What David Villa's Transfer to FC Barcelona Means For Zlatan Ibrahimovic - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_3279" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Inter-Milan-Player-Celebrations.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>Diego Milito, Iván Córdoba, and Wesley Sneijder celebrate their passage to the Champions League final.</div>
The sprinklers rose up from the pitch and sprayed the Inter Milan players and staff.&nbsp; The Barcelona anthem, “Cant del Barça,” blared through the loudspeakers as the Culés did not know whether to clap off their Blaugrana heroes or vehemently whistle at the unwanted visitors from northern Italy.&nbsp; This sense of confusion permeated throughout the Camp Nou after referee Frank de Bleeckere blew the whistle for fulltime, but two things were certain: FC Internazionale Milano would face Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, and FC Barcelona would not.
Inter manager José Mourinho fueled the fire, in typical Mourinho fashion, in the pre-match press conference when he spoke of Barcelona’s ambition to compete in the Champions League final in Madrid:
<blockquote>“We (Inter Milan) have the dream of winning the Champions League, and for Barcelona, it’s an obsession.&nbsp; This is the difference.&nbsp; A dream is purer than an obsession.&nbsp; There is pride in a dream, anywhere in the world.&nbsp; For Barcelona, it was a dream to reach the final in Rome, but to reach the final at the Bernabéu is an obsession for them.”</blockquote>
If this quote were analyzed on its own grounds, very few people would know what the hell he was talking about; however, Mourinho’s ingenuity for creating distractions away from his team and onto himself has served him well with his previous teams.&nbsp; FC Porto and Chelsea put up with his antics because they worked.&nbsp; This formula seemed to sour at Inter Milan, where the Italian press were unimpressed with his brash personality, and even Inter president Massimo Moratti started to suffer from Mourinho fatigue.

With the 3-1 triumph at the San Siro in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals against Barcelona, Mourinho had free reign, and his quote struck a chord with Barça and its fans like no other manager could accomplish.&nbsp; They immediately went on the defensive.
Some Barcelona supporters reportedly attacked Mourinho’s car after the press conference, punching the windows, throwing various paraphernalia, and attempting to topple the car on its side.
Barça TV, the club’s television channel, created an advertisement where various Barcelona players promised to “leave their skins” on the Camp Nou pitch to audibly declare their intentions on Wednesday night, accompanying the shirts they displayed after they beat Xerez on Saturday which showed the message, “Nos vamos a dejar la piel,” (We will leave our skin).
Another section of Barcelona fans tried to disrupt the sleep of the Inter players Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday morning outside of their team hotel, making constant noise with drum, horns, and firecrackers.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave his rebuttal to Mourinho’s “obsession” quote, stating that anyone who assesses Barcelona as obsessive is a second-rate psychologist.
A strong reaction from many arms of the Barça establishment, but why?&nbsp; There is no doubt that José Mourinho can get under the skin (no pun intended) of his opposition, but whenever all of this huffing and puffing occurs, usually it means that there is doubt, and they engage in all of this extracurricular activity to convince themselves otherwise.
When Barcelona traveled to Stamford Bridge in last year’s Champions League semifinal second leg without scoring at the Camp Nou, this same rah-rah fervor did not exist prior to the match.&nbsp; Although it took a 93rd minute goal by Andrés Iniesta to slug past Chelsea into the final, the confidence that Barcelona had of breaking through a resolute Chelsea defense was enough for them.
Although they only needed to score once at Stamford Bridge last season, a 2-0 result at the Camp Nou, even against a José Mourinho defense, was not an impossible situation by any stretch.&nbsp; All of the extraneous motivation mentioned above was inconsistent with this team and teemed with a desperation not seen since the end of the Frank Rijkaard era.
When the players took to the pitch at 20:45 CET, the choreographed displays of the Catalunyan flag from each goal side and a Barça trophy resplendent in garnet, yellow, and blue from the sideline stands would inspire the most jaded of players.&nbsp; Not only the Barcelona players, but the Inter Milan players who would want nothing more than to spoil Barcelona’s magnificent run since the origins of the Pep Guardiola regime.
With Carles Puyol suspended for this match, Gabriel Milito was expected to deputize in central defense, but Guardiola threw a wrench with Milito starting at left back and Touré Yaya in central defense.&nbsp; In the first leg, most of Inter’s successful attacking moves originated down the right flank, and they took advantage of Maxwell’s constant forward runs and left him out of position for Maicon, Samuel Eto’o, and Wesley Sneijder to perform their duties.
For Inter Milan, yellow cards became their main concern, as, save for Lúcio, the rest of the back four was one yellow card away from missing the final should they reach that stage.&nbsp; The burning question lingered about whether Maicon, Walter Samuel, and Javier Zanetti would be hesitant to throw themselves into challenges, knowing that one late tackle could mean suspension from the biggest match of their careers.&nbsp; Ask Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, who missed the 1999 final when Manchester United completed their astonishing two-goal turnaround in stoppage time against Bayern Munich.&nbsp; According to Keane, “Although I was putting a brave face on it, this (missing the final) was just about the worst experience I’d had in football.”
Inter clearly frustrated Barcelona through the first twenty-seven minutes, ceding nearly 80% of the possession but allowing nothing to bother their goalkeeper Júlio César.&nbsp; Then the inevitable controversy ensued when Frank de Bleeckere sent off former Barça player Thiago Motta for a hand to the face of Sergio Busquets.&nbsp; As the modern game would dictate, Busquets reacted as though he suffered a knockout blow from Mike Tyson.&nbsp; He had the audacity to take a peek at de Bleeckere to see if he flashed a card before “regaining his senses,” and he accomplished exactly what he set out to do when Motta raised his hand to his face.
Understandably, Motta could not believe the decision and needed to be held back not from de Bleeckere but from Busquets.&nbsp; A harsh decision by de Bleeckere, but if the roles were reversed, Motta would have likely done the same thing and also try to coax that red card.
Until Gerard Piqué scored in the 84th minute, however, Barça’s one-man advantage appeared irrelevant, as Inter Milan continued to clear any ball that entered their penalty area.&nbsp; Júlio César made a spectacular diving, fingertip save on a Lionel Messi curler, and Bojan Krkic missed an absolute certainty of a header two minutes before Piqué’s goal, but the vast majority of Barça’s attempts on goal were fired from the twenty-five to thirty-five yard distances, nothing that would seriously trouble Júlio César.
More newsworthy than Barça’s lack of cutting edge involved the substitution of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 63rd minute in favor of Bojan Krkic.&nbsp; With twenty-seven minutes on the clock, there remained plenty of time to score the necessary two goals, but Pep Guardiola believed Bojan had a better chance of galvanizing the offense than Ibrahimovic.&nbsp; Ibrahimovic’s reputation had been linked to his shrinking violet act in the most important moments for both club and country, and his listless performance against Inter Milan will do him no favors in shaking this reputation.
The last ten minutes became purely riveting, as the siege on Inter’s goal had actual consequences, and when Bojan appeared to net the clinching goal in the first minute of stoppage time, the city of Barcelona actually lifted from the ground, but Frank de Bleeckere blew his whistle before Bojan’s goal transpired for a handball on Touré Yaya.
No one claimed any doubt that Touré Yaya did not intentionally handle the ball, as Walter Samuel smashed his clearance straight into Yaya’s tucked arm from less than three yards away, but that call always goes against the attacking team and in favor of the defending team.&nbsp; If that same situation happened, where the offensive player kicked the ball into the defensive player’s tucked arms in their own penalty area, the referee would rightfully continue play because the handball was unintentional.
<a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3281" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100429_WST_72181_Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=311" alt="" width="500" height="311"></a></figure></div>Barcelona did not do enough on the pitch, and their 1-0 result might be their most hollow victory in many years.&nbsp; Legitimate questions will be asked about this Barça team.&nbsp; Would Andrés Iniesta have made the difference between advancing and failing?&nbsp; Does Pep Guardiola need to develop an alternate plan when the opposition decides to employ ten men behind the ball?&nbsp; Did Barcelona miss the inspiration of their captain, Carles Puyol, even though Inter Milan made little to no suggestion of troubling the Barça defense?&nbsp; Was the Ibrahimovic for Eto’o swap a potential bust?
All of these inquiries will either never be answered or answered over time, but now they must focus on their tenuous one point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga.&nbsp; Failing to reach the Champions League final in Madrid hurts, but if Barcelona cannot hold on to the La Liga crown after having at least a share of the lead for all but a couple weeks of the season, this potentially historic team will become just another good team that played nice football.
<a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3283" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20100429_WST_72181_Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=368" alt="" width="500" height="368"></a></figure></div>As for now, they will seethe over José Mourinho, pejoratively referred to as “The Interpreter” in Barcelona, and how he defiantly pointed to the crowd in revelry after his Inter Milan team achieved for what they set out.&nbsp; Mourinho deserved to do whatever he wanted, however, because he earned it.&nbsp; He slew the beast.&nbsp; Those windmills were actual giants, and he defeated the enchanter.&nbsp; Joan Laporta, Pep Guardiola, and the rest of the Blaugrana nation will look internally soon enough, but this pain that they will have to put away in time for Villarreal on Saturday stings much more than the joy they felt from any of their six trophies from a year ago.

Inter Milan Completes The Italian Job on Barcelona in the Champions League - World Soccer Talk

Inter Milan Completes The Italian Job on Barcelona in the Champions League

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