Having Ter Stegen is a blessing for a style that prioritises the generation of advantages from the first stage. “You can’t get nervous if Ter Stegen has the ball”, Junior said. “When they man-mark you, the goalkeeper must handle the…

Episode 8 of the Setién season. An episode full of emotions: joy, optimism, frustration, nerves, scepticism. What’s clear is that there was no total satisfaction, as there were two very distinct halves in the match against Getafe. Or, better said,…

The Barcelona fans are ultra demanding. Not only the local fans, of course, but all over the world. Pep’s era left the impression in people that what happened during those 4 years, the best in our history, could be repeated…

B a r ç a v G e t a f e Line-up : Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Arthur, De Jong, Ansu Fati, Griezmann, Messi. What. A. Great. Line-up. Just what I wanted –…

If we already have a very short squad of 16 or 17 active first team players, it is vital to at least have them all performing at a high level. We have almost no margin for rotations, but, whenever we…

In 2013, Tata Martino’s Barça hosted Levante in a game that would end 7–0 for the locals. Joaquín Caparrós, the visitors’ coach, said that “playing against Barcelona is like going to the dentists. You have to go every year and…

Now that it’s confirmed that Dembélé will be out for 6 months, it’s a good time to talk about his future. What should we do with him? Yesterday Ousmane underwent a successful surgery in Finland for a ruptured tendon in…

If wins like the one against Betis give us something, that’s time and confidence. It’s always far easier to work through the victory than to do it through defeat. Triumphs not only lift the morale of the team, but are…

We’re blessed to have Lenglet. To execute our game, taking bold risks from the very first stage of build-ups, we need players that have the technique and confidence of the Frenchman. Personality to bring the ball out from the back,…

What a game! Enjoying it a lot, very very fun. Top technical quality from both sides – Fekir, Frenkie…–, a very tactically rich duel, and goals. Unfortunately, every mistake we have made has hurt us 3 more times than normal…