<div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2021/08/barcelona-billion-debt-1200x675.webp" alt="Barcelona&apos;s $1.5 billion debt" width="1200" height="675" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-342422" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></div>
<p>Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint Germain rocked the sports world. A sad, but necessary, move to try to reduce Barcelona’s dire situation of being $1.5 billion debt. Paris came to a standstill to welcome the Argentine. FC Barcelona did not have the winger as a first-team player for the first time in 16 years. LaLiga without the two biggest stars in the game.</p>
<p>Messi’s departure comes unexpectedly for seemingly everyone, including Barcelona management and the player himself. Lionel Messi returned to the club after his first major international success (winning the 2021 Copa América) ready to play. So ready to play that his pay would be slashed in half to free up finances for the club.</p>
<p>Yes, Messi would still make an estimated $85 million per year. If anything, it showed he was willing to work with the club to help them.</p>
<p>Newly elected Barcelona President Joan Laporta came in with two goals. The first one, to look good for fans, was to re-sign Messi. The Argentine’s contract expired at the end of the previous season, leaving him as a free agent. The second, more important goal, was to right Barcelona’s financial crisis.</p>
<p>FC Barcelona, among the biggest clubs in the world, sat billions of euros in debt. Despite a combined social media following of <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/2174175/barca-surpasses-400-million-followers-on-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">400-million users</a> and the <a href="https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/mr/mr44/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-highest average attendance</a> in European soccer, the club was in economic ruin.</p>
<p>To estimate, most bookies say the club sat at $1.5 billion in the hole. As recently as August 16, the debt climbed to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2021/08/16/laporta-says-barcelona-finances-dramatic-but-future-bright/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.58 billion</a>, according to Laporta. Barcelona’s well-documented issues dominate headlines right now. Perhaps audiences enjoy watching the old guard fall. Or, on the flip side, fans enjoy seeing their comeback both on and off the field.</p>
<p>Regardless, these issues must be explained before they can be tackled and understood.</p>
<h3>Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt in three pieces</h3>
<h5>1. Dodgy Transfers</h5>
<p>On face value, transfers are an easy way to spend or earn money, depending on value.</p>
<p>In Barcelona’s case, it’s an understatement to say they took risks in the transfer market when trying to acquire players. Some of this can be chalked up to simple bad luck with injuries. Ousmane Dembele came over from Borussia Dortmund for a base fee of 105 million euros. Add-ons and other fees brought that transfer up to <a href="https://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2021/02/12/6026bc3d268e3ecf6a8b45da.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">125 million euros</a>. Dembele’s constant injury dilemmas and lack of success on the field illustrate the obvious failures in the transfer.</p>
<p>Similarly, Barcelona acquired Philippe Coutinho for a club-record fee of 160 million euros. Injuries did not help the Brazilian, who could not keep up form on the field. Often, Barcelona fans at Camp Nou would jeer the midfielder during games.</p>
<p>The same story exists for players like Samuel Umtiti, Andre Gomes and even Antoine Griezmann. Albeit, Griezmann’s performances are fine, they just do not warrant the 120 million euro transfer fee he required.</p>
<p>The only saving grace for Barcelona in terms of transfers is that they sold Neymar for a world-record fee of 222 million euros. Despite the influx of cash from the Parisians, debt persisted and worsened.</p>
<p>At the beginning of 2021, Barcelona’s transfer debt to other clubs sat at roughly <a href="https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-barcelona-reveal-how-much-they-owe-other-clubs-in-transfer-fees-20210125" target="_blank" rel="noopener">205 million euros</a>.</p>
<h5>2. COVID-19 and other ventures</h5>
<p>FC Barcelona, like millions of employees and companies around the world, suffered massive losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>In their end-of-year financial analysis, the club reported a <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/1856468/the-201920-economic-year-ends-with-losses-of-97-million-euros-caused-by-the-effects-of-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net loss of 97 million euros</a> in the 2019-20 season. The club attributes much of that to the loss of a true matchday experience. The club pulled in revenues of 162 million euros from stadium and other venue operation. This is 24 percent less than their revenues from the season prior. Additionally, 249 million euros of revenue came from broadcasting rights for Barcelona games via LaLiga, Copa del Rey or the Champions League. This resembles a 35 million euro decrease from 2018/19.</p>
<p>Despite total revenues reaching 855 million euros, the club budgeted 1.047 billion euros in revenue. The club came up 18 percent short in their revenues.</p>
<p>To boot, FC Barcelona continued their investment in upgrades to their stadium, Camp Nou. The Espai Barca project, which is a plan to modernize the grounds and the stadium at Camp Nou, costs roughly <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/1856346/fc-barcelona-gets-a-unique-financing-model-for-espai-barca-based-on-incremental-revenue-generated-by-the-camp-nou-over-25-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">50 million euros each year</a>, for the next 25 years.</p>
<p>While a welcome change, Espai Barca represents yet another cost that may be avoidable. Regardless, the 25- to 30-year deal with Goldman Sachs yields 50 million in expenses each year.</p>
<div id="attachment_342371" style="width: 1290px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-342371" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-342371 size-full" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2021/08/Camp-Nou-1280x720.webp" alt="" width="1280" height="720" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-342371" class="wp-caption-text">The famous Camp Nou sat empty for over an entire season, with costly renovations on the horizon.</p></div>
<h5></h5>
<h5>3. Wages</h5>
<p>The main eye-opener in Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt is player wages. Headlines regarding Pique, Messi and other long-standing players mention the lofty wages that must be dealt with.</p>
<p>Before his contract ended, Messi’s contract brought him over 500 million euros over a four-year span. Gerard Pique needed to take a 50 percent salary cut just to allow Barcelona’s new signings to play.</p>
<p>The salary issue reached roughly <a href="https://salarysport.com/football/la-liga/barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">280 million euros per year</a>. This was obviously unsustainable, and it brought tough decisions to the forefront of the club to offset Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt.</p>
<h3>Steps towards recovery</h3>
<h5>Tough goodbyes</h5>
<p>Lionel Messi&nbsp;<em>is</em>, not was, an icon of the club. He wanted to stay and sign a new four-year deal at the club, taking a massive slash to his wages. He took on the saying&nbsp;<em>mes que un club</em>, as you would expect the captain to do. However, Messi’s contract and the associated plans presented by Laporta were not allowed under LaLiga attempts to tighten financial regulations.</p>
<p>With the need to shed 200 million euros to meet LaLiga’s salary cap, not even Messi’s 50 percent cut fit the designated amount. Pique’s contract was relatively small enough to squeeze into the salary cap.</p>
<p>For those wondering why Messi could not take more money off his contract, Barcelona thought of that as well. To avoid fraud, one’s contract can be no smaller than 50 percent of the previous contract. This means that even with the maximum cut, Messi’s contract was too large.</p>
<p>Here is where Joan Laporta blames the previous administration. Barcelona’s previous board, led by Josep Maria Bartomeu, signed players to such large contracts. Contracts so inflated that the debt kept piling up.</p>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2021/07/17/espn-faq-for-la-liga-everything-you-need-to-know/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE:</a>&nbsp;</strong>ESPN+ FAQ for La Liga: Everything you need to know</em></p>
<p>Griezmann, Coutinho and Miralem Pjanic, all signings by the previous board, occupied the second-, third- and fourth-<a href="https://salarysport.com/football/la-liga/barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest salaries in 2020/21</a>. One thing these players have in common is that they underperform based on their wages, significantly. No other team wants to buy these players in a transfer to help Barcelona knowing the on-field product will not deliver. In the end, these players sit, unused, raking in lump sums of money.</p>
<p>Francisco Trincão and Junior Firpo highlight those who departed in the summer of 2021 to shed some of the salary for the upcoming season.</p>
<h5>Return to Development at La Masia</h5>
<p>The previous administration took over in 2014. The squad headlined by Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Sergio Busquets and other La Masia products won three UEFA Champions League titles in six years. This core added a fourth in 2015. However, the direction of the club quickly changed.</p>
<p>The performances on the field lost the&nbsp;<em>tiki-taka</em> flair established by Pep Guardiola. Instead of growing talents from their academy, many players simply arrived via transfers.</p>
<p>We can see, now, how that turned out for the club. No more Champions League triumphs, a handful of domestic success, but nothing to match the standard of FC Barcelona.</p>
<p>To fix Barcelona’s $1.5 billion debt, the plan has to revert to using La Masia to create home-grown talents. Riqui Puig, Ilaix Moriba, Oscar Mingueza and other young players demonstrate the facility still has potential.</p>
<p>During his campaign for presidency, Laporta argued that the club must prioritize La Masia over outside transfers. This will be hard for many Barcelona fans used to domestic and intercontinental success, but this process will take time. However, the results, as seen in the ten-year stretch from 2006-2015, do not lie.</p>
<div id="attachment_342368" style="width: 1110px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-342368" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-342368 size-full" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2021/08/Pep-Resize-1100x683.webp" alt="" width="1100" height="683" sizes="(max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-342368" class="wp-caption-text">FC Barcelona players lift former manager Pep Guardiola.</p></div>
<h5></h5>
<h5>Rebuild the culture</h5>
<p>Lionel Messi is one of the last players to hold what made the Barcelona teams of years prior so special. He played with a certain style on the pitch. Also, he did not speak negatively about the club until the summer of 2020 during his quarrel with Bartomeu.</p>
<p>With Messi gone, it is hard to envision the trademark tiki-taka style at Camp Nou. With Laporta emphasizing the importance of La Masia, that style can return to its roots.</p>
<p>A younger revolution at the club means the chance to create something special. The results can be seen. Pedri, although he was purchased from Las Palmas, resembles what Iniesta and Xavi brought to the club. It is a challenging comparison to make, but Ansu Fati is on par with some of Messi’s early records. These players, along with the aforementioned La Masia graduates, can build the core of a team to legitimately compete in a few years.</p>
<p>What is even more exciting for Barcelona and its fans, is the fact that these players have the charisma and style that graced previous generations of Barcelona players. Perhaps Barcelona can rise again?</p>
<div style="font-size: 10px;color: #cccccc;overflow: hidden;font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/worldsoccertalk" title="World Soccer Talk Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc;text-decoration: none" rel="noopener">World Soccer Talk Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/worldsoccertalk/can-espn-grow-laliga-in-the-united-states" title="Can ESPN grow LaLiga in the United States?" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc;text-decoration: none" rel="noopener">Can ESPN grow LaLiga in the United States?</a></div>


The downfall of Barcelona: How debt and transfers cost Messi

FC Barcelona's $1.5 billion debt seems like an impossible number to reach. However, what seems even more insurmountable is trying to overcome it.

The downfall of Barcelona: How debt and transfers cost Messi - 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="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3279" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3279" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Inter-Milan-Player-Celebrations.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333"></figure></div></a><p id="caption-attachment-3279" class="wp-caption-text">Diego Milito, Iván Córdoba, and Wesley Sneijder celebrate their passage to the Champions League final.</p></div>
<p>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 <em>Culés</em> did not know whether to clap off their <em>Blaugrana</em> 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.</p>
<p>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:</p>
<blockquote><p>“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.”</p></blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<p></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3281" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Barcelona-Champions-League-Loss.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="311"></figure></div></a>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?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3283" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Jose-Mourinho-Champions-League.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="368"></figure></div></a>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 <em>Blaugrana</em> 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.</p>

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

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

<div id="attachment_2150" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2150" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2150" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2009/10/Pep-Guardiola.jpg" alt="Pep Guardiola cannot believe it either." width="500" height="364"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-2150" class="wp-caption-text">Pep Guardiola cannot believe it either.</p></div>
<p>After a workmanlike 1-0 victory against Almería and a mediocre showing in their 0-0 draw at the Mestalla against Valencia CF on Saturday, FC Barcelona looked to reverse their form in the Champions League against a supposed weaker team in FK Rubin Kazan.&nbsp; To their credit, Barça did not make any excuses about their performance against <em>Los Che</em>, but they did suffer from the FIFA virus because a vast majority of their players contributed to their respective countries’ national teams across the globe.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola rested Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi flew to and from South America and competed in two crucial and stressful World Cup qualifiers with Argentina, Thierry Henry picked up a thigh injury while playing for <em>Les Bleus</em>, and many others not mentioned here.&nbsp; Before the match, Seydou Keita spoke about their Ukrainian opponents:</p>
<p><em>“It won’t be an easy game.&nbsp; They will come to the Nou Camp to defend like all they do and we’ll have to go out strong to create chances and score.”</em></p>
<p>Rubin Kazan also entered this contest without playing at their highest standards.&nbsp; In control of the Russian Premier League through much of the season and with a seven-point lead with eight games to play, the Tatars turned their focus on the Champions League.&nbsp; Fairly inexperienced in juggling domestic and European responsibilities, the distraction of the Champions League led to a dip in form in Russia, which included a draw and two losses before a routine and pedestrian 2-1 win over hapless FC Khimki on Saturday.&nbsp; Spartak Moscow took advantage of a faltering Rubin Kazan and shaved the league deficit to a single point with five rounds remaining.&nbsp; Facing Barcelona at the Camp Nou was one of the last tasks that Rubin Kazan needed.</p>
<p>Rubin Kazan erased any fears of the Catalunyan atmosphere when Aleksandr Ryazantsev delivered a shock thirty-yard strike in the second minute to give the visitors the 0-1 lead.&nbsp; Immediately after a Barça attack that culminated in an unanswered penalty claim, Rafael Márquez misplayed a goal kick from Sergei Ryzhikov.&nbsp; The ball headed in the direction of Ryazantsev, who decided to take the shot first time from a country mile away.&nbsp; His searching effort became one of the goals of the Champions League season as his sweetly struck bullet pierced the top right corner of Victor Valdés’ unsuspecting goal.&nbsp; The Camp Nou faithful were flabbergasted, the Barcelona players were stunned, and most of all, Ryazantsev’s teammates were astonished by both the shot and the sudden lead.</p>
<p>The goal annoyed the <em>blaugrana</em> more than anything, and they continued their assault on the Rubin goal; however, Rubin Kazan’s organization was outstanding, and Barça could not find the breakthrough against this highly disciplined Russian side.&nbsp; When Ibrahimovic equalized early in the second half with a little spin-o-rama magic of his own, the pervasive feeling was that of inevitability.&nbsp; It was not if Barcelona would win but by how many.&nbsp; Apparently, Rubin Kazan did not get the memo, and they continued to persist with their defensive game plan.&nbsp; Rubin would only have three shots for the entire match, but each one was on target, and their third and final shot proved to be the game winner.&nbsp; After another Barcelona giveaway, Alejandro Domínguez sped down the Barça half in a blistering counter-attack.&nbsp; The timing of his through-ball to Gökdeniz Karadeniz was impeccable, and Karadeniz’s one-timer from fifteen yards flashed across the face of goal and bundled the back of the net.</p>
<p>Barcelona’s attempts to make the match all-square were in vain, as two of their efforts hit the frame of the goal and the others handled by Sergei Ryzhikov.&nbsp; The final statistics compare to a video game: twenty-four shots with thirteen on target, 69% of the possession, eleven corners to one, and a mind-boggling 654 passes at an 86% completion rate.&nbsp; With these numbers, Barcelona won 5-0, right?&nbsp; Not on this European night.&nbsp; The streets of Kazan will flood with joyous supporters who will cherish this night as the night when their beloved Tatars slayed the Catalunyan dragon.</p>
<p>The expectations for Barcelona from the media and the team itself are so astronomical that little blips on the radar become immediate crises.&nbsp; After the match, Xavi Hernández was at it again, bemoaning Rubin Kazan’s tactics and overall play to the Spanish sports daily <em>Diario AS</em>:</p>
<p><em>“It was a very dissatisfying match from the start, conceding a goal into the top corner  from thirty yards at the very beginning.&nbsp; Then we had many chances and made it more  difficult for them</em><em>.&nbsp; We played well at times, we opened up the pitch and had spells.&nbsp; But it is difficult  to measure a team that only defends, especially if you do not find the final  pass.&nbsp; They leave with an undeserved prize.”</em></p>
<p>Sometimes, humility would be a nice change of pace.&nbsp; While Xavi gave no credit to Rubin Kazan for their gritty display on Tuesday night, plaudits will rain from many media outlets about this fairly unknown team from Russia and their desire and intensity.&nbsp; Well done Rubin and the loyal supporters who traveled many miles to the Camp Nou to witness their small slice of history.</p>
<p>What got lost from Xavi’s remarks is a question many will ask tonight and throughout the season.&nbsp; Did Valencia and Rubin Kazan provide blueprints to earn results against this unrelenting Barça side?&nbsp; Somewhat.&nbsp; If a less technically gifted team goes against Barcelona, follow the Rubin Kazan plan: defensive organization, midfield flooding, and opportunistic counter-attacks.&nbsp; If the team can truly compete with Barcelona’s talent, follow the Valencia plan: keep possession, shackle Dani Alves and Eric Abidal as much as possible, and force Victor Valdés into some contested crosses and shots.&nbsp; Even if all of these principles are followed, as many teams have tried, it will likely be all for naught.&nbsp; That is the beauty of this FC Barcelona outfit.&nbsp; Their single-minded nature to attack and attack and attack eventually crumbles their opposition.&nbsp; When Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari last season, one of the main reasons was that he did not have a plan B if plan A did not work.&nbsp; If Barcelona’s plan A does not work, which happens quite rarely, they execute plan A even harder.</p>
<p>President Joan Laporta and the Barcelona supporters need not worry at this point.&nbsp; Barcelona is on top of La Liga and their congested group in the Champions League.&nbsp; No team will sail through a season without some difficulties, and these recent struggles might be for the best because if Barcelona started to believe in their own accolades, Pep Guardiola will surely point to their performances against Almería, Valencia, and Rubin Kazan.&nbsp; Even when Barcelona was at their best, Guardiola kept them on level ground.&nbsp; The players will listen to him, and they will rise from this temporary setback.</p>
<p><strong>Saques de Esquina:</strong></p>
<p><strong>– </strong>With a three-goal lead at Stuttgart, Sevilla FC resorted to time-wasting tactics that an inferior team would do if it could earn a point away from home.&nbsp; Really?&nbsp; Stuttgart did pull a goal back from Élson’s whipping free kick, but Sevilla did not need to act as though they were a Tercera División side in a Copa del Rey tie.</p>
<div id="attachment_2166" style="width: 164px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2166" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2166" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2009/10/Jose-Mourinho.jpg" alt="Courtesy of halighalie" width="154" height="206"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-2166" class="wp-caption-text">Courtesy of halighalie</p></div>
<p>– Hoping to squeak out a last-minute victory over Dynamo Kyiv, Inter Milan manager José Mourinho sent in defender Marco Materazzi as a battering ram forward, similar to what he did at Chelsea when he would use Robert Huth in the same fashion.&nbsp; The thought of Touré Yaya or Federico Fazio acting as emergency strikers should strike fear in the hearts of defenders everywhere.</p>
<p>– Is Jens Lehmann always angry with someone?&nbsp; After Frédéric Kanouté legitimately fell in the penalty box due to a legal sliding challenge from a Stuttgart defender, Lehmann got in Kanouté’s face, likely accusing him of diving.&nbsp; Lehmann seems to thrive in this role, whether he alienates the opposition or his own teammates.</p>


With Rubin Kazan's Deserved Victory, FC Barcelona Suffers a Minor Setback

With Rubin Kazan's Deserved Victory, FC Barcelona Suffers a Minor Setback - World Soccer Talk

Latest news from Joan Laporta. Find out about all the news related to Joan Laporta on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Joan Laporta - Page 6"

News

The downfall of Barcelona: How debt and transfers cost Messi

News

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

News

With Rubin Kazan's Deserved Victory, FC Barcelona Suffers a Minor Setback