BarcaFutbol

This Euro , from BarcaFutbol, we are going live. We will be covering a few games everyday which will be shorter in duration, but hopefully with enough in -game context to entertain all our viewers. We start with Spain vs Croatia. On the surface, it seems like Spain dominated Croatia end to end, but the truth was far from it. Having said that, it is true, Croatia now has to win their second game to stay alive in the tournament. it will be a must win game for them. What went wrong today and what should they do against Italy? And is everything hunky Dory for Spain as the scoreline suggests? Dom and I discuss.

Barca have a new coach.

The same coach who led Bayern to defeat them 8-2 a few years ago. Barca's heaviest defeat in Champions League.

A coach from the famed German school of football, of which Laporta is a fan.

Hansi Flick won the sextuple with Bayern, but he had a stacked team. He won't have the same at Barca. Neither will he have the funds to buy the players he needs.

And yet for some reason he has been wanting this job of coaching Barca, over all other jobs? Why did he opt for this and what can we realistically expect from his first season?

How will he set it all up?

Dom and I delve in.

In a dramatic u-turn, emblematic of a normal office day @ FC Barcelona, Xavi Hernandez has decided to not resign as coach of Barca at the end of the season after categorically deciding to resign earlier in January.

In the meantime petabytes of content have been dished out on possible new coaches and life at can Barca post miester Xavi.

By now, all of that needs a u turn as well.

But what does this all mean? Why did Xavi decide to stay back? What made him want to leave in the first place and what was the sense in the timing of any of these two diametrically opposite decisions?

But that is just scratching the tip of the iceberg.

What does it actually mean for Barca who have capitulated as a team in what can only be defined as a dismal season for their fans. With no room for financial fair play, no option for elite player upgrades and the continuation of a coach who clearly has struggled to make the team play better football over two and a half seasons, how does this decision benefit the club?

We explore all of this and more in our latest pod. Give it a listen

After the ignominy of two Europa Cup campaigns, Barca had the rub of the green with a fairly easy group stage draw this season.

Coupled with a few good performances, Barca avoided a third season in Europa and went on to the Qaurter FInals where there season ended against PSG.

A PSG who did not really play that well.

A PSG against whom they should have won with a 4-2 lead in aggregate and 60 minutes left to play

But they folded mentally under the pressure

This wasn't the first time either. Over the past 9 years Barca have been painfully humbled in the Champions League many times and there is a reason for that.

They simply haven't been good enough.

In this episode we take a realistic view of what the club needs to do and how long it can realistically take to be credible challengers again.

What a week it's going to be for Barca fans. Full of nerves and half chewed nails!!

For a season that has been so topsy turvy with so many narratives, Barca find themselves with the slimmest of margins to make it to the Champions League semi-finals after ages in the wilderness.

On the other side, a win against Madrid in the Clasico will make the league table suddenly very very interesting.

2 massive games in one week. 180 minutes that can completely turn the script on Barca's overall season and even next season.

So in this episode Dom and I start looking at what we can expect from these two games and what Xavi would be mindful of, as he preps for what definitely will be one of the greatest and most challenging weeks of his coaching career.

Madrid and PSG are two intensely fast and physical teams who have plenty of differential players in their ranks to turn the tide at any moment. Barca is mostly counting on their academy to pull them through

Both games are going to be long and hard for Barca. But there are aspects of the game from both teams, which if controlled can give Barca the upper edge in both games.

Can they execute?

Give the pod a listen

At BarcaFutbol we have predominantly covered the men's team in terms of tactical and statistical analysis.

But football has grown beyond the men's game. Case in point : The Women's Football World Cup had record live attendance in matches earlier last year.

Over it's 100 year history, Barca as a club have had enormous cultural impact on the way the game has evolved and is now played. Their philosophy, way of playing, style of training are technical blueprints that have been exported to every league in the world.

And they have continued to expand on that pioneering work by expanding the same fundamentals of philosophy to Women's football.

Today, Barca Femeni are a winning juggernaut. On pitch they display the same Barca values and orchestrate intricate passing patterns which create beautiful, flowing attacking passages of play.

They are virtually uncontested in the league and have won multiple Champion's Leagues and Ballon d'Or's, contributing to a surging wave of interest in the women's game.

In this episode we invite Football analyst and author Abdullah, who has written a book on Barca Femeni to share his viewpoints on what makes Femeni so special.

As life long Barca fans, we have been categorically critical of Barca this season.

But club football is a tribal sport. Club affiliation amongst fans run deep, and as fans when we produce content, even with our best of intentions, we cannot be completely objective or practical.

Biases appear

So in this episode we decided to do an experiment. We invited a professional coach to hear his interpretation of Barca and Xavi's season.

But we didn't want to stop just there.

We also wanted to embellish it with a radically different nuance. A fan voice whose allegiance lay with a team with whom Barca's rivalry dates back since as far as history can remember

Real Madrid.

Scott Martin is a professional football coach, an author of two football books and a self confessed die hard Madridista.

In this episode we talk to him about all things Barca but from his point of view on the rival seat.

Give it a listen

Alright, Barca purists, you all have been waxing eloquent on Brighton & Hove Albion's fearless Italian manager, Roberto De Zerbi.

This guy isn't just about results, he's about playing football with style and a whole lot of guts.

De Zerbi's philosophy is pure - possession-focused, attack-minded, and with a touch of flair. While he has been compared to the likes of Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri, his style is uniquely his own.

De Zerbi doesn't want his teams just holding the ball, he wants them to dominate with it. Short, sharp passes, movement off the ball, and creating overloads to break down defenses – it's about controlling the game.

Forget sitting back and waiting. De Zerbi's teams press high, forcing mistakes and winning back possession quickly. But, here's the twist, his press is calculated. He isn't just chasing the ball, he's luring the opposition into traps to then play through them.

It's risky, but incredibly effective.

Once that possession is won, it's about moving forward, fast. His players look to play through the lines with clever passes and quick combinations. The goal is to disorientate the defense and strike quickly.

All this is good. But will Barca benefit from DeZerbi ball? Is De Zerbi the right coach that Barca should employ at the Camp Nou dugout? What are the positives of bringing him in ? Where are the challenges?

Dom and I explore in this episode.

Tune in!

Napoli seemed to be a mixed bag. A good performance which probably should have been a win. But that's how the whole season has been for this Barca

Missed expectations. Missed connections. Dysfucntional drip.

We are joined in this episode by La Liga commentator Andy West and we talk about then Napoli game, Barca's realistic expectations from how it can end and what impact Xavi's leaving might have on the team

Join us, give a listen, subscribe and share!!!

It's finally happening after four years of not happening.

And on the face of it, its quite damning for the everyday Barca fan. A Madrid super team with arguably the best player in the world today!

There go all the Clasico's.

But is everything doom and gloom as it sounds ?

Barca have so many issues to solve for. And does that change a lot due to this posisble signing ?

What should the next two years look like and where should Barca's trajectory be?

BarcaFutbol trade some thoughts