Barca -v- Arsenal, Champions League Q/Final 2nd Leg

Headshot

redout wrote: »

I would be very surprised if Barca got 26 shots tomorrow night.

Thats a bad bet headshot, last week was a one off.

It wont be repeated tomorrow night.

Very confident in telling you that.

we'll see

im on a pretty good streak of late redout

plus barca at home and arsenal without gallas or song. Also messi cant play as bad as he did in the first leg so he could contribute to my bet

we'll see anyway, 10 euro isnt going to break the bank

Paleface

I think Arsenal need huge games from Almunia, Vermaelen, Nasri and Walcott if they are to go through. And by huge I mean HUGE!

People writing them off and having Barca winning by cricket score margins are falling for the usual sensationalist hype. I will concede that its hard not to think that way but football has never been that predictable at this level.

I can't see Barca being as good as they were in the first half of the game at the Emirates. They like Arsenal are weakened due to injuries and suspensions and will fade the longer the games goes on if they play that same type of pressure game. If Arsenal can hold on for the first 60 mins then it would be anyones game after that. They are becoming the masters of getting late winners!

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

Bukman13

Headshot wrote: »

thanks mate

pp have a special atm about barca shot on and off target

gone for
Arsenal v Barcelona Specials Number of Barcelona shots
06-04-2010 19:45
No. of Barcelona shots on goal
26 or more shots @ 9/1

redout wrote: »

I would be very surprised if Barca got 26 shots tomorrow night.

Thats a bad bet headshot, last week was a one off.

It wont be repeated tomorrow night.

Very confident in telling you that.

Yea, I agree with redout, if Barca are winning after half time they will just kill the game off by passing it around, only chance you have is if Arsenal take the lead and Barca struggle to get past a heroic Almunia:).

Headshot

iv fate in almunia to step up and prove the doubters wrong :-D

redout

Headshot wrote: »

we'll see

im on a pretty good streak of late redout

plus barca at home and arsenal without gallas or song. Also messi cant play as bad as he did in the first leg so he could contribute to my bet

we'll see anyway, 10 euro isnt going to brake the bank

Fair enough but I will say this - Barca rarely ever have that many attempts even in la liga games so I reckon its a long shot. Also dont see Wenger not coming up with something to somewhat neutralise what happened in the opening 45 at the Emirates. Also remember El Clasico on saturday so these players wont being going full throttle imo and if they are leading I reckon Pep could take some of the heavy hitters off. Dont wager big would be my advice.

L'prof

Headshot wrote: »

iv fate in almunia to step up and prove the doubters wrong :-D

As long as he doesn't have to make any decisions, he might do ok! Dunno about proving the doubters wrong though...

leninbenjamin

I reckon it'll be a scrappy game with few chances myself. A Barca victory by a single goal is what I'd have my money on.

SDTimeout

Love the ignorance of some people in this thread. Going to be a steam roller. For those claiming the 2-3-4-0 scorelines i'll be your bookie on those bets

Regardless of result i'm expecting arsenal to gain alot of plaudits in the match tomorrow. I think we will go through myself

Frisbee

Barca 2 - Arsenal 3

Vela Hat trick



: )

redout

Frisbee wrote: »

Barca 2 - Arsenal 3

Vela Hat trick

Vela aint even in the squad.

Frisbee

redout wrote: »

Vela aint even in the squad.

I was joking.

Hence the smiley face.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Vela's not in the squad:p

Though luckily Iniesta is rumoured to be in Barca's squad and Sol is a doubt, superb! Actually I wouldn't mind Sol missing out if Sagna is played at CB and not Silvestre, think Sagna could do a good job there.

redout

Frisbee wrote: »

I was joking.

Hence the smiley face.

There is no smiley face ?

GLaDOS

redout wrote: »

There is no smiley face ?

It's in white at the bottom

Frisbee

redout wrote: »

There is no smiley face ?

Yes there is

redout

ScienceNerd wrote: »

It's in white at the bottom

Very stealthy.

Frisbee

redout wrote: »

Very stealthy.

Ninja like almost

redout

Barca squad
Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Marquez, Milito, Fontes, Abidal, Maxwell, Touré, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Jonathan, Keita, Jeffren, Bojan, Pedro, Henry, Messi


Iniesta was cleared by the medical staff this afternoon.

eZe^

Wahey! Squad momentum shifts in Barcas favour again. This speculation is almost as exciting as the actual match ups.

x PyRo

Fuck.

Mr.Nice Guy

x PyRo wrote: »

In fairness Mallorca away would trouble any side, they're phenomenal at home.

The Wolves game looked like Arsenal struggled but in fairness we should of won by 3 at least if it wasn't for the keeper. Sunderland are also a brilliant team at home and anyone would struggle there. The team we'll have out should have a chance of putting it up to Barca at least, saying we need a miracle is way off the mark in my opinion.

Saying we'd lose by most of the top teams outside the top two in Spain isn't fair in fairness to the rest of the squad, i respect your opinion but that's way off the mark even without the main guys the following team would be more than capable of beating anyone from Valencia to Atletico.

This would be the team i'd like to start vs Barca also.

Almunia

Sagna--Song--Vermaelen--Clichy

Denilson--Diaby--Nasri

Rosicky

---

Eboue

Bendtner

If that team was beaten by any of the teams from 3rd to 10th i'd be extremely surprised. Even without 4 of our main players that's a pretty solid team especially if Bendtner learned how to put away the many sitters he gets every game.

Oh and Eboue playing on the left wing rather than the right would be to try and stop Alves' runs down our left side. He's the only Arsenal player with the Speed, Stamina and Defensive Ability to do a job on him in my opinion.

I know Real Mallorca are phenomenal at home but that was my point as you said Arsenal were of different class to everyone Barcelona play in Spain aside from Real Madrid which I just don't agree with. I don't think many would have struggled against the opposition Arsenal have struggled with this season.

We now know Song is out of the starting XI which I think is a huge loss but even if he was fit and that team you named played I still fancy most top Spanish sides would beat them. Barca I think are the second best at home after Real so it looks an insurmountable task.

If Fabregas, Arshavin, Gallas and Van Persie (and now Song) were available then I definitely think Arsenal would stand a chance and that it would be foolish to write them off, but the team on Tuesday is a shell of that team. Even taking into account Barca's absentees this one looks a straightforward home win.

OPENROAD

You couldn't make it up :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I am off to pack my kit and boots and try and get a flight

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/rosicky-rated-as-50-50-for-barcelona-tie

SDTimeout

Rosicky now a 50:50

Choked on some tapas this evening i believe

Frisbee

So Walcott and Eboue are probable starters for the wings now.

If this was a movie we'd be guaranteed to win 4-3 with a last minute goal from Sol Campbell.

flahavaj

Could be a long night for Arsenal tomorrow.

Memories of the night United got a tanning back in 1994 over there with an understrength team come flooding back.:(

Bukman13

Frisbee wrote: »

So Walcott and Eboue are probable starters for the wings now.

If this was a movie we'd be guaranteed to win 4-3 with a last minute goal from Sol Campbell.

Really?

I think Sol Campbell scoring in the last min to make it 3-3 would make a far better movie.

Frisbee

Bukman13 wrote: »

Really?

I think Sol Campbell scoring in the last min to make it 3-3 would make a far better movie.

Either or. A victory always looks better than a draw though, even if they'll both have the same result.

redout

Barcelona
Out: Zlatan Ibrahimović (calf)
Doubtful: Jeffrén (calf), Yaya Touré (bruised ankle), Andrés Iniesta (thigh)
Suspended: Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué
Misses next match if booked: none

• Guardiola has included Iniesta in his squad, with the midfielder looking to make his first appearance since he picked up a thigh injury on 27 March. "He still hasn't trained with the squad, so we will see how he feels and what he thinks about playing," said the coach.

• Ibrahimović suffered a tear in his right calf during the warm-up to Saturday's Liga 4-1 win against Athletic Club, with his replacement Bojan Krkić scoring twice.

• Guardiola backed Thierry Henry to shine if selected, though underlined that "he's been having problems with his calf muscle for a while now".

Arsenal
Out: Aaron Ramsey (broken leg), Robin van Persie (ankle ligaments), Kieran Gibbs (broken metatarsal), Johan Djourou (knee), Cesc Fàbregas (leg), William Gallas (calf), Andrey Arshavin (calf), Alex Song (right knee)
Doubtful: Sol Campbell (hamstring)
Suspended: Cesc Fàbregas
Misses next match if booked: Gaël Clichy, Robin van Persie, Abou Diaby

• Defensive midfielder Song was ruled out after scans on Sunday revealed inflamed knee cartilage. "It was a bad surprise," said Wenger.

• The Frenchman also expressed doubt as to the availability of centre-back Campbell. "We don't know if he's available yet with a hamstring problem," he said, meaning Mikaël Silvestre may start.

Sútalún

Noooooooooooooo. Not Silvestre. Please Jeebus..

Frisbee

Does anyone know why Vela didn't travel with the squad?

He's not injured afaik so seems weird to leave him out considering how short of wingers we are.

tony1kenobi

Frisbee wrote: »

So Walcott and Eboue are probable starters for the wings now.

If this was a movie we'd be guaranteed to win 4-3 with a last minute goal from Sol Campbell.

1-0 to the Arse,Henry handballed own goal on 96 minutes would be better......accidental of course.....ball to hand and all that......maybe he celebrates the goal a wee bit too much......then we bring him home.

MaxPower89

I think we would probably lose with Silvestre playing, he is just that bad...:(

Bukman13

Frisbee wrote: »

Either or. A victory always looks better than a draw though, even if they'll both have the same result.

Ah yes but 4-3 would be far less dramatic. (I'm thinking hollywood here )

Anyway, if Rosicky doesn't make it, it gives Wenger very little options.

Midfield will probably be, Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Nasri, Walcott now.

SDTimeout

Samir Nasri is going to make a MASSIVE name for himself tomorrow night.

leninbenjamin

eZe^, was it you earlier sayin' Arsenal's luck with injuries going into this tie is no worse than Barca's? Our backup to our backup backup CB is doubtful. you can only laugh really.

Sútalún

leninbenjamin wrote: »

eZe^, was it you earlier sayin' Arsenal's luck with injuries going into this tie is no worse than Barca's? Our backup to our backup backup CB is doubtful. you can only laugh really.

I'm thinking about crying to be honest..

leninbenjamin

Frisbee wrote: »

Does anyone know why Vela didn't travel with the squad?

because he is a lazy **** who seemingly doesn't give a **** whether he plays or not for the club.

tony1kenobi

leninbenjamin wrote: »

because he is a lazy **** who seemingly doesn't give a **** whether he plays or not for the club.

What is that based on?He always seems chuffed when he is playing.Has something been said or done?If not I think we should be delighted to have a young talent happy to wait for his chance!

Fuzzy_Dunlop

Fuck it, just let Merida score the winner now that Cesc can't play. The way it's going it'll be him and Eastmond propping up the midfield.

leninbenjamin

tony1kenobi wrote: »

What is that based on?He always seems chuffed when he is playing.Has something been said or done?If not I think we should be delighted to have a young talent happy to wait for his chance!

Well he will always bugger off to play for Mexico whether he is injured or not, yet the slightest niggle seems to keep him out of the squad for us.

Two, he always has a smiley head on him whether he plays or is sitting on the bench so I wouldn't read too much into that. If anything it's a sign he lacks a competitive streak.

Three, he's just lazy on the pitch for us. He's a completely different player for Mexico seemingly, he always seemed much more fired up for it.

He's been here two years, he's now 21, yet he's shown very little signs of the development whereas in the same period Song, Bendtner, Gibbs etc. have all come on leaps and bounds. Maybe he deserves another season but I'd be happy enough to cash in on him now tbh.

eZe^

leninbenjamin wrote: »

eZe^, was it you earlier sayin' Arsenal's luck with injuries going into this tie is no worse than Barca's? Our backup to our backup backup CB is doubtful. you can only laugh really.

It's crazy man, in like 12 hours things have become twice as worse for ye, and twice as good for us. It'd be an absolute shame if the tie was sh*t because of injuries.

Frisbee

leninbenjamin wrote: »

He's been here two years, he's now 21, yet he's shown very little signs of the development whereas in the same period Song, Bendtner, Gibbs etc. have all come on leaps and bounds. Maybe he deserves another season but I'd be happy enough to cash in on him now tbh.

They're all given much more game time. Fair enough that's because their form deserves it more than him, but playing for 10 minutes every couple of games no-one is going to look good.

He'll be off in the summer I'd imagine but considering how stuck we are for wingers atm it would make sense to have him in the squad for tomorrow.

tony1kenobi

Aye but there isn't a spot for him in the first team and he is benched a lot.Would ya begrudge him playing time at international level?It can only do him good.I'd hold onto him.I think if he gets a shot he is gonna be fantastic.

I get what ya mean by lazy.He does look like a barrell a lot of the time but I think he's handy.....and I like his smiley head...him and Eboue....it's like sunshine!

leninbenjamin

Frisbee wrote: »

They're all given much more game time.

But to fair, you have to make something of the sporadic appearances to earn more time. Think about it, Bentdner has always maintained around 1 in 4 goal scoring average for the club even when playing on the wing. Vela has near 50 appearances now for the club and has averaged around 1 in 7 or 8. Eastmond has made more of an impact this season than Vela for Chrissake! Vela just shows no desire to make good on his promise imo, the squad simply can't afford to carry him unless he ups his performances levels.

What really annoys me though is reading match reports from Mexico of Vela's appearances for them. The two things that stand out are his off the ball movement and composure in front of goal, the two things he distinctly lacks (imo) in an Arsenal shirt. The World cup will be interesting to see whether he features.

All in all I can completely understand why Wenger would leave him out tonight. Arsene needs to know his players will be up for it, that they can make an impact. Traoré and Merida haven't exactly set the world on fire, but they've at least put in a decent shift when called upon. The same cannot be said about Vela.

Frisbee

leninbenjamin wrote: »

But to fair, you have to make something of the sporadic appearances to earn more time. Think about it, Bentdner has always maintained around 1 in 4 goal scoring average for the club even when playing on the wing. Vela has near 50 appearances now for the club and has averaged around 1 in 7 or 8. Eastmond has made more of an impact this season than Vela for Chrissake! Vela just shows no desire to make good on his promise imo, the squad simply can't afford to carry him unless he ups his performances levels.

What really annoys me though is reading match reports from Mexico of Vela's appearances for them. The two things that stand out are his off the ball movement and composure in front of goal, the two things he distinctly lacks (imo) in an Arsenal shirt. The World cup will be interesting to see whether he features.

I agree with the majority of your post except for that. He's fairly clinical in front of goal. He's been so poor this season as he's a forward being played on the wing and not getting the chances in front of goal.

leninbenjamin

Frisbee wrote: »

I agree with the majority of your post except for that. He's fairly clinical in front of goal. He's been so poor this season as he's a forward being played on the wing and not getting the chances in front of goal.

Eh... he played as a winger for Salamanca did he not, in the season where he got something like 10 goals and 15 assists in the Segunda División? And then he put in some stunning performances for Osasuna in the same position in La Liga. We all know his best position is more as a central forward, but he's not exactly being asked to play a position unfamiliar to him. And he has missed plenty of sitters for us.

x PyRo

We're aswell fielding the womens team at this stage, the amount of injuries we have is unreal.

oconnon9

Serious lack of confidence in here from Arsenal fans!

B-E-L-I-E-V-E

Its 90 minutes of football, anything is possible! Barca might not be at the races! Did anyone give Ireland a chance in Paris?

Personally I'm just looking forward 2 watching the match!

redout

Barcelona, Budyonkor, Uzbekistan, and UNICEF

Amidst little fanfare in 2008, Barcelona announced a cooperative link up with an obscure team in Uzbekistan, Kuruvchi FC. It is a deal that has definitely benefited both clubs, but the commercial partnership has raised questions. Not least because the Uzbeki government has one of the worst records in the world for human rights violations, and that Barcelona are sponsored by UNICEF.

Initially the link up was on footballing grounds, with Kuruvchi players being allowed to train with and be trained by Barcelona players at Miniestadi during their winter break. The two clubs would then play a lucrative friendly before March 2010. Also, players such as Samuel Eto'o, Carles Puyol, and Andres Iniesta would travel to Tashkent, the capital, to cement the deal in the eyes of the media.

But who are Kuruvchi?

It might be news to many, but the club are now one of the world's richest teams, and are a powerhouse in Asian football, despite only being created in July 2005.

Initially when the club were created they were called Neftgazmontaj-Quruvchi, which was then shortened to Kuruvchi, which means "creator" in the Uzbek language. By 2008, The Swallows had won promotion twice and were playing in the highest league possible in Uzbekistan, the Uzbek Oliy League. In their first season in the Uzbek Premier League they won the double.

Shortly after the club changed their name to Bunyodkor and then announced a renewable yearly partnership deal with Barcelona. That season the club who had not existed a mere three years before made it to the semifinals of the Asian Champions League where they were eventually beaten by Australian outfit Adelaide United.

Bunyodkor then began to build a massive 15,000-seat stadium, where Barcelona President Joan Laporta planted the first brick in a huge PR exercise. Less than 18 months later and the club are on the verge of building a $150 million stadium, despite their 'old' stadium being only one year old.

With money being no obstacle, Bunyodkor began to attract some of the world's best players to enhance their growing reputation. Barcelona players Carles Puyol, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas all received €1 million each to perform at a PR training school and to wear the Budyonkor jersey for further publicity.

Not happy with just being linked with the games top stars through PR purposes, the club made an audacious bid to sign Samuel Eto'o and offered the Cameroonian star €25 million to play for club for just three months. He turned the deal down and chose to link up with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

The club then moved to sign Rivaldo from AEK Athens . The 36-year-old will take home a reported $14 million for two years worth of his services. Zico then joined his fellow countryman for four months before he too was replaced with yet another wandering Brazilian, one Luiz Felipe Scolari . The World Cup winner had just been sacked by Chelsea and was looking for a new club.

How did a team rise from complete obscurity and non-existence five years ago become one of the richest clubs on the planet?

For this we have to go back to the name change of the club. When Kuruvchi were initially created they were representative of the local area. Seeing a glorious chance for international PR they changed their name, mid-season and without prior acknowledgement to anyone, to Bunyodkor, citing the main reason for this change as the club were no longer regional but national representatives.

The vice-president explained the economic expediency of the move this way:

“The number of sponsors and partners of the club has grown: it was four (official founders are Neftegezmontaj, UzGazOil , Gissarneftgaz and Kokdumalakgaz ), whereas now it has grown to 12. All these companies are involved in the creative sector of the country’s economy.”

That is why the club’s name was changed from “builder” to “creator”.

The badge of the club was changed during this stage too, to one almost identical to that of Barcelona's.

According to sources in Russia and Uzbekistan, the main money-men behind the club are Zeromax , and their alleged owner Gulnara Karimova . (wiki)

Gulnara Karimova is the daughter of Uzbekistan's President for life, Islam Karimova. Under his rule for the past 20 years, Uzbekistan has become one of the worlds worst black-spots for human rights violations.

As recently as March 26 2010, Human Rights Watch found Uzbekistan's current record as being abysmal by international standards. During their study of the country, it was found that people were detained with impunity, that journalists and NGO's were regularly arrested simply because of their profession, and the use of torture and ill treatment was rampant.

The committee also raised the issue of child labour which is seen as being widespread through the country.

UNICEF , are the worlds leading child protection agency, and Barcelona's sponsor are heavily engaged in trying to bring about change in Uzbekistan.

During their studies on Uzbekistan it was found that unemployment is rife, almost 40 percent, and that the rate of children being left in orphanages to care for them is on the rise. Of these children roughly 10 percent are used for child labour like intensive cotton harvesting, while cases of child trafficking and child prostitution has also been reported.

It was also found during these studies by UNICEF and Human Rights Watch that the Government were very lax when it came to applying international law for child labour.

Which brings us back to Bunyodkor and their alleged links with a Government with a terrible human rights record.

There are many opponents to the regime in Uzbekistan. In 2009, Freedom House deemed Uzbekistan as being "the worst of the worst" in terms of civil rights abuses. While long time anti-Karimov campaigner Craig Murray has launched many scathing attacks on Uzbekistan's human rights abuses.

Murray was the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan between 2002 and 2004, before he was removed from his post after exposing civil rights abuses by the US funded Karimov government. His book Murder in Samarkand documented his two years in Tashkent and how the abuses and double standards employed by the British and American Governments changed his beliefs and outlook on life. It will be released as a film in 2011.

In 2007, Murray wrote an article linking Alisher Usmanov with the Karimov government in Uzbekistan, and that he was the money behind both them and Gulnara. Since then "the hard man of Russia" has taken over a 25 percent stake in Arsenal FC.

When asked about Budyonkor's and Gulnara Karimova's rise, Murray had this to say.

"It's part of a campaign by the president to win popularity for his daughter. I hear that she will eventually replace him as president. The regime is trying to win popularity by the old-fashioned bread-and-circuses method."

To many political commentators she is seen as the only possible heir to her father, as she will be the only one able to protect both her and her fathers assets and cronies.

Through pumping money into Bunyodkor, she has begun to change the face of the family and is seen as using the clubs supporters to gain credence to the governing political party that she is destined to take over.

The link up with Barcelona has certainly put Bunyodkor on the map.

It is somewhat ironic that Gulnara Karimova is now Uzbekistan's Ambassador to Spain, and this has fueled the speculation that she is considering buying RCD Mallorca.

Recently she held an auction with the donations set for various charities. During the sale she declared that she was representing UNICEF, something the organisation fiercely deny.

“UNICEF does not have any projects with Ms Karimova. We do not have any relations with Chopard,” the spokesperson said.

This did not put Karimova off, as she continued to declare UNICEF as her main sponsor.

In another event she enticed Sting to play in Uzbekistan for £1 million. When the British press found out about the event the singer was embarrassed into making an excuse. He used UNICEF as his shield. Something the organisation vehemently denied.

Gulnara also used Elton John for publicity during a visit to Los Angeles. The gay activist and AIDS campaigner was probably unaware that he was standing beside a representative of a government that would have jailed him for his sexuality and beliefs.

In 2006, Barcelona chose the moral high ground by letting UNICEF become the sponsor of their famous jersey. It was the first time in over 107 years that the club had allowed an emblem on their jersey.

At the time many cynical commentators alluded to Barcelona trying to tap into a new market by allowing the well known children's rights organisation sit proudly on their jersey.

"For the first time in our more than 107 years of history, our main soccer team will wear an emblem on the front of its shirt," said Joan Laporta the Barcelona president at a UNICEF executive committee meeting . "It will not be the brand name of a corporation.

It will not be a commercial to promote some kind of business. It will be the logo of 'Unicef'. Through UNICEF, we, the people of FC Barcelona, the people of 'Barça', are very proud to donate our shirt to the children of the world who are our present, but especially are our future."

Barcelona have become involved with a team backed by an allegedly corrupt government, and one that has been accused of gross injustices, for a reported £5 million a year. While wearing the UNICEF logo, it would seem that Los Cules have many questions to answer.

Links to both clubs. I have heard of this before and it doesnt make pleasant reading.

BR

tony1kenobi

That does make for unpleasant reading.It's quite disgusting.

However,how could Eto'o turn down 25 mill for 3 months work?