Champions League draw
Champions League draw
The Champions League draw is out and Barcelona will be playing the winner of the Beitar Jerusalem - Wisla Krakow second round matchup. Currently Beitar holds a 2-1 lead after hosting the first leg in Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium. What a cuddly name. Beitar, known as ?????? ?????? ???”? ??????? in Hebrew (thanks Wikipedia!), is apparently Israel’s [...]
The Champions League draw is out and Barcelona will be playing the winner of the Beitar Jerusalem - Wisla Krakow second round matchup. Currently Beitar holds a 2-1 lead after hosting the first leg in Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium. What a cuddly name.
Beitar, known as ?????? ?????? ???”? ??????? in Hebrew (thanks Wikipedia!), is apparently Israel’s richest club, are the defending league champions, and they have on their roster one Sebastian Abreu. If you’re not familiar with this now 31-year old Uruguayan striker, you might go ahead and get acquainted with him via YouTube or Wikipedia. Abreu has spent most of his time in the Mexican Primera division, bouncing from team-to-team. His most successful stint, and the one I mildly remember him for, was his time at Cruz Azul. Other than that, though, I actually don’t know any of the players on the roster.
Wisla Krakow is, of course, Polish and so it’s real name is Wis?a Kraków, with that line through the lower case L and the accent on the o. And now I’ve copied it, so I can write it whenever without worrying about switching my keyboard or remembering the ASCII code: Wis?a Kraków. See? Wis?a Kraków.
I recognize none of Kraków’s roster, to be honest, so I can’t really discuss them. Not even at the superficial level that I did Beitar’s. Kraków did win their league as well, though, so neither can really be taken lightly.
It’s nice that FCB avoided the three teams that I mentioned before, so San Leo’s departure for the azure skies of Beijing shouldn’t be too big of a deal.
Does anyone out there in Commentland have any inside information on either of these two teams?
UEFA Champions League Draw - Friday
So tomorrow is a big day in European club football: it’s the Champions League third round qualifier draw. Win your two-legged affair and you’re in the group stage. It’s the first time in a while that Barça have had to enter this part of the competition, but we’re there and we’re doing it without Messi, [...]
So tomorrow is a big day in European club football: it’s the Champions League third round qualifier draw. Win your two-legged affair and you’re in the group stage. It’s the first time in a while that Barça have had to enter this part of the competition, but we’re there and we’re doing it without Messi, who has jetted off to the Olympics.
Laporta seems worried that the team won’t get into the group stage without Messi, which, of course, is silly to most Barça fans. We’re not known for our lack of faith or expectation, that’s for sure. But imagine, for a moment, what Laporta is thinking: Oh crap, what if we fail!? I’m soooo screwed! After all, he didn’t fair so hot in the vote of no confidence and a major failure at the very beginning of the season after bringing in a new coach, getting rid of two popular players (Deco and Ronnie), maybe a third (Eto’o), and spending nearly €100million on bringing in new faces would certainly spell the end for Laporta’s reign. Laport and Txiki would certainly curl up in little balls rocking back and forth while their assistants attempt to clean them up for the resignation press conference…
Here is who we might get matched up against:
FC Sheriff (MDA) OR AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
Drogheda United FC (IRL) OR FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
PFC Levski Sofia (BUL)
SK Slavia Praha (CZE)
Galatasaray AS (TUR)
FC ?nter Bak? (AZE) OR FK Partizan (SRB)
Vitória SC (POR)
NK Domžale (SVN) OR NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Beitar Jerusalem FC (ISR) OR Wisla Kraków (POL)
R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
FC Twente (NED)
Tampere United (FIN) OR FC Artmedia Petržalka (SVK)
Aalborg BK (DEN) OR FK Modri?a (BIH)
SK Brann (NOR) OR FK Ventspils (LVA)
Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP) OR SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
The scores are in from the first leg of the second qualifying round, so I’ve bolded the teams currently winning their ties. Draws are italicized (and by the way they are listed in order of who plays home first if you want to know who is in charge via away goals, etc). Atleti is also in this draw, but they can’t face off against Barça, so there was no point to listing them as an option.
Who do you think would be the worst draw for Barcelona out of this group? I’m going with Galatasaray, then Dynamo Kyiv then Slavia Praha. I just don’t ever fancy meeting up with a Turkish team with everything on the line.
Let’s hear your thoughts!
Welcome, Alex Hleb, a.k.a A Little Taste of Belarus
Welcome, Aleksandr Hleb, another piece of the puzzle that is being put together by Pep Guardiola and the technical staff. His path went through Stuttgart, then Arsenal, where he learned a love for the beautiful game, which should make him fit in very well now that he is wearing the colors. Hleb is 27 years [...]
Welcome, Aleksandr Hleb, another piece of the puzzle that is being put together by Pep Guardiola and the technical staff.
His path went through Stuttgart, then Arsenal, where he learned a love for the beautiful game, which should make him fit in very well now that he is wearing the colors. Hleb is 27 years old, almost 6 feet tall and can play all across the midfield as an attacking mid. His left or right versatility makes him great for adding to our overall team depth.
His strengths are pace, ball possession and dribbling ability. He’s also an excellent passer, and will work very well with Thierry Henry. The two, often along with Emmanuel Adebayor, were formidable at Arsenal, with no real threats coming from anywhere else.
With us, there will be Henry, Messi, Iniesta, that mythical “9,” Xavi, Alves and Keita pushing up, in addition to, at times, Hleb. He will make an excellent addition to our attacking force because the skills that he brings to the table are skills that we were lacking last season. He rarely gives up possession, and can dribble his way out of many a jam. He’s also a one-touch passer, which can be the difference between a striker being offsides and on.
There are, of course, knocks against Hleb by the Arsenal fans, namely that he doesn’t shoot enough. They’re right, in their context. In ours, we are going to have plenty of shooters. Recall that what made Deco so dangerous wasn’t his scoring ability, but his knack for opening up the defense with the right pass, from either in the box or just outside the box. Hleb has that rare ability. Everybody on a side doesn’t need to score goals, let’s not forget.
I am very excited about this signing, and not only for his technical skills.
“I want to win titles, titles are my priority,” said Hleb during his Nou Camp presentation, adding that he was even willing to play in goal if that would help the side.
Hard to argue with a guy like that, who apparently has been on our radar since his Stuttgart days, according to Txiki and the boys. This makes sense, when you look at the style of football that we play.
Guardiola said that Hleb “can play on either of the two wings, or in the middle, and can even play as a false center forward.” Like Iniesta, the adaptability of Hleb is appreciated.
Will he make the starting XI? Good question. I just don’t see it at present, not with the way that Iniesta is playing. But Hleb will give him a very good run for his money. I think that Iniesta has a better eye for goal, but Hleb is the better possession midfielder, and can keep the ball even if fouled. Players such as that are great to have in a side.
So everyone put your hands together, and say hello to our latest acquisition.
