Post by enmorecat on Jan 7, 2016 16:37:12 GMT 10
The EnmoreCat Academy (me and the son & daughter - very elite) had the good fortune to, after paying a large fee, be invited to the Copa Del Rey match between Barca & Espanyol. Obviously as a youth league reporter it was quite a step up for me, but was pleased to report that Barca in particular do look quite well-drilled. The running off the ball and quick interchange of passing was quite awesome (a word that gets used too much I know).
Espanyol scored the first goal, quite early in what was a superb counter attack and if I had to pick out one part of Barca that looked not quite as good as the rest of what is a superb team, it would be to say that they are vulnerable to the quick break and a better team might get in behind them more regularly. What the goal did do was rattle the Barca cage and they came storming back. Some of the combinations happen so quick, if you blink you miss. I thought Iniesta was amazing in midfield and you can tell that whilst everyone in the team loves being on the ball (Neymar in particular) they also like to move it on. Messi's brain seems to function a split second faster than anyone else's and he plays sme amazing chips/short passes in tight areas. I came away with a real respect for Suarez, his running off the ball is very unselfish and he got into several great positions and on another night could have had a few goals. They do hit long balls too, but they tend to be defence splitting diagonal passes.
The noise is something else and whilst not the San Siro Sportspark, the whistling when Espanyol came out to warm up was deafening. Equally, the silence when Espanyol scored the first goal of the game, was quite surreal. It wasn't a full house, but 76k plus people does make for a vibrant atmosphere, but of course, they do have possibly the best team in the world to watch, which does help. Certainly an experience I can definitely recommend.
Espanyol scored the first goal, quite early in what was a superb counter attack and if I had to pick out one part of Barca that looked not quite as good as the rest of what is a superb team, it would be to say that they are vulnerable to the quick break and a better team might get in behind them more regularly. What the goal did do was rattle the Barca cage and they came storming back. Some of the combinations happen so quick, if you blink you miss. I thought Iniesta was amazing in midfield and you can tell that whilst everyone in the team loves being on the ball (Neymar in particular) they also like to move it on. Messi's brain seems to function a split second faster than anyone else's and he plays sme amazing chips/short passes in tight areas. I came away with a real respect for Suarez, his running off the ball is very unselfish and he got into several great positions and on another night could have had a few goals. They do hit long balls too, but they tend to be defence splitting diagonal passes.
The noise is something else and whilst not the San Siro Sportspark, the whistling when Espanyol came out to warm up was deafening. Equally, the silence when Espanyol scored the first goal of the game, was quite surreal. It wasn't a full house, but 76k plus people does make for a vibrant atmosphere, but of course, they do have possibly the best team in the world to watch, which does help. Certainly an experience I can definitely recommend.