Football fans the world over know Barcelona better than any other team, apart from their own personal favourites. We have all marvelled at how this side redefined the game at club level, before carrying their modus operandi and success to the Spanish national team, with an even greater win ratio, but the devil is in the detail, and the details point to a vulnerability in Barcelona.
They have won European trophies three times in the last nine seasons but only once in the other six seasons have they been eliminated by a non-British team. Five times in nine seasons they have passed, jinked and outplayed British opposition without creating enough clear-cut chances to win the tie, or by protecting their goal sufficiently well.
Inter parked the bus in the 2010 Champions League semi-final, as only Inter can, but all others across continental Europe have been swept aside, no matter how defensively, flamboyantly or aggressively they play.
The pool of teams capable of beating over two legs Barcelona is admittedly small but any opponent who reaches the knock out stage of a competition from France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy or Spain itself would take their chances seriously. The Russians, Ukrainians and Belgians would have a go too. None of these countries have a single team better than Barca by any objective measure, but the same is true of British teams.
There is something about the high-tempo nature of the British game this team just doesn’t cope well with. If they did, they would have won at least twice as many European trophies as they have in the last nine seasons. If it’s objective evidence you are looking for, you don’t need to look too far for a style of football Barcelona don’t cope with.
Chelsea triumphed twice during the period while Liverpool and Manchester United both won once. The sequence started when Celtic drew 0-0 at the Camp Nou after a 1-0 win in Glasgow in 2004. Liverpool also knocked Barca out three years earlier and don’t ask a Dundee United fan about their exploits at the Camp Nou unless you have an hour to kill!
Play your own game, Celtic.
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Swally makes me sick,,,a born politician,constant fake smile gets right on my tits!!!
Rant over lol
HH
HAIL! HAIL! THE CELTS ARE HERE!
COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN!
BARCELONA’S GREEEEEN AND WHIIIITE!!!!!!!
@ OfficialNeil 58m
Thanks for all your support whether it be in Glasgow or round the world. It’s great we are playing on this stage again #celticfamily
Can anyone tell me has big Victor signed a new contract yet ?
oooh ah could croosh a grape!
Excitement building in the sandpit. Have taken tomorrow morning off work! :o)
ASonOfDan
13:26 on 23 October, 2012
‘Highland MSPs John Finnie and Jean Urquhart have resigned from the SNP over the party’s decision to end its long-standing opposition to Nato.’
And so it begins.
Just wait til they lose the referendum.
To more pressing matters.
My only hope for any of these big European away games is that we don’t suffer an embarrassing defeat and that the troops all get home safely.
Anything else is a bonus.
southside
12:41 on 23 October, 2012
Please stop these positive posts Paul. I’m starting to feel uncomfortable with this cautious optimism. It’s Barca in the Nou Camp!, we’ve no chance. But the stats don’t lie. I’ll still be watching from behind the sofa.
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Agree totally,except my living-room isnae big enough to hide behind the sofa.
For me,our best chance is to hit them on the break as they get frustrated in the second-half.
We really have to keep it tight till HT.
Speaking of which,anyone who reckons HAMILTON TIM is one of the nicest blokes you could meet-a compliment frequently seen on here-does him a slight injustice.
The man is an absolute star!
Thanks,buddy,for organising a smashing evening.
Maybe one of these days we can manage a wee day oot in Cheltenham. No TIM bars there,but we will colonise one for a wee while!
ernie lynch
An embarrassing defeat?
If we lose 10 -0 I’ll still be proud of my Celtic.
We are just different kind of supporters.
You and me.
Annoyingly I just went back into old article to post 2 questions:
Here they are again
1, are we wearing the hoops tonight?
2. What results do we want in the other games?
Fholks
I actually think we’ll at least score too. They are missing Pigue, Puyol and Alves at the back and Busquets in the middle.The keeper Valdez always has at least one horrendous mistake in any game I’ve seen him play also. Did you see the one he let under him at the weekend ? Schoolboy stuff.
I can see a route one goal for us perhaps? It comes like this. Forster “Packie special”, Samaras flick on, Hooper goal. Easy,eh ? Failing that we can get something from a set piece as they are struggling big time with height at the back. I’m ever the optimist!
Of course, up front they have the personnel and formation from the Gods. They just walked through that Deportivo defence the other night. If ever we needed to start well, its tonight. If we start the way we did in the first five minutes in Moscow, they will tear us a new one and we’ll be 3-0 down before you can say “Rangers are dead”.
So that’s my summation. Keep the faith! After all, 6 months ago I couldn’t run the length of myself yet the Saturday before last I did a 21 mile training run and am doing a marathon next Monday. Miracles do happen!!
Marti
I’ve run out of sedatives………….OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH
We have to wear the Hoops for both games v Barca.
Thanks Celtic first. Message passed on.
Celtic and Barca,two of the most recognizable strips in world football.
Gotta be the hoops tonight
bt, TET and oldtim, gonnae stop rubbing it in ya bams
Son of Gabriels:
Two draws between Spartak and Benfica would leave Benfica 1 pnt behind, Spartak 2 points behind us, (regardless of what happens between Barca and ourselves over the two games)
Of course if we look for the parachute third place , two wins for Benfica would be good.
or ……..
if we win all our remaining games we dont need to bother about the other fixtures.#
The Onlooker
Thanks Paul:
I love that our glass is served half full.
Very much looking forward to today’s game!
T
To get a result tonight Celtic will have to be patient about not having possession for long periods. We will have to be disciplined in defence and we will have to watch them pass pass pass the ball around, we cannot lunge in especially against Messi, for we will surely give away a pen. They are a team that EXPECTS to score, a lot. The longer we can prevent them scoring the more frustrated they will become, as will the crowd. I feel we will score though, at least 1. Heres hoping. HH
Son of Gabriel
Sorry about getting your name wrong.
No need to send the offending ‘s’ back.
Keep it and use it later
The Onlooker
from
TSFM
I don’t get this ‘world record’ stuff. Are they just allowed to ignore everywhere else?
Here’s Santa Cruz in Brazil Serie D
1) Santa Cruz 0 – 0 Treze , 59.966, 16/10/2011, Estádio do Arruda.
2) Santa Cruz 0 – 2 Tupi , 54.815, 20/11/2011, Estádio do Arruda.
3) Santa Cruz 4 – 3 Guarany-S , 50.879, 05/09/2010, Estádio do Arruda.
4) Santa Cruz 2 – 2 Central , 45.007, 11/07/2009, Estádio do Arruda.
5) Santa Cruz 1 – 0 Coruripe , 44.642, 25/09/2011, Estádio do Arruda.
Going by the varied dates, these can’t all be ‘play-offs, so they don;t count’, can they?
I seem like the only one on here that is very nervous about tonight….we didn’t defend too well in Moscow..
toscanabhoy
@ 13.41 The whole world will be watching tonight.
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Not quite, not on terrestrial tv in Scotland, the most disinterested small country in the world. STV coverage of Champions League is disgraceful imho.
Reality : they are FCB.
But we are CFC. Anything is possible in football. The ball is round. The game lasts ninety minutes.
We are playing in The Camp Nou. We are there on merit, and merit alone. We are 2nd. in our group behind FCB. They are taking us very seriously, and with no lack of respect.
We should give ourselves the same honour. We are capable. We are Celtic.
Marti Sandino
13:59
Thats quite a progression, well done!!
Perfect Scenario
Barca 1-1 Celtic
S.Moscow 1-1 Benfica
Celtic 1-1 Barca
Benfica1-1 S.Moscow
Benfica1-1 Celtic
S.Moscow 0-3 Barca
Celtic 2-0 S.Moscow
Barca 3-1 Benfica
Barca 14
Celtic 10
Benfica 4
S.Moscow 2
Long time lurker,
what a day to start. Thanks Paul.
Mon the hoops
The Onlooker
14:13
You are forgiven, I’ll take the 3rd outcome.
Had to repost this to show my disgust at STV.
toscanabhoy
@ 13.41 The whole world will be watching tonight.
===========================================
Not quite, not on terrestrial tv in Scotland, the most disinterested small country in the world. STV coverage of Champions League is disgraceful imho.
Prodigal Tim – a soupcon of pessimism is absolutely right.
At this level we’re still learning to walk, never mind do the bloomin’ ole pasa doble.
Off topic-The Thick Of It, Enquiry episode at the weekend was brilliant.
*THE KING VIC 67*
13:09 on
23 October, 2012
richie
12:28 on
23 October, 2012
Will watch in the same Aberdeen boozer….Malones. Full of Tims and a great atmosphere assured.
…. The king vic67 will be there!
HH
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Watch out for the ole CQN badge!
I am realistic as this is the best team in the world imo… But this team of young lions can step up there game I believe and get a result! If Sammi can play his part and give us an out ball and make it stick up front… we will get chances. I also think if the CB pairing is like being reported we could benefit from crosses and set plays. Play your own game indeed HH
Wixy
Son of Gabriel @ 13:58,
With the 1st vs 4th seeds & 2nd vs 3rd seeds head-to-heads, back-to-back these mid-competition games are about sorting the wheat form the chaff, I don’t think that’s going to happen in this group.
Hope it remains tight so we have a real chance of Europe after Christmas going into the last game.
One off oor bhoys are going to make a name or themselves this evening.
Cant believe the games not on Live on STV, that is nothing short of Scandalous.
Sheik Yerbouti
14:14 on 23 October, 2012
+++++
All bar the fourth one were indeed play-offs. The fourth one is in a Champions-League style round-robin mini-league – Santa Cruz finished bottom of their group with 5 points from 6 matches.
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Just popped on (In between getting run off my feet by grandson)to wish Neil & the Bhoys well tonight.
Just give it your best shot that will do for me.
HAIL HAIL
Text updates for me :(( Homegroup meeting tonight.
If there is no hope (and I don’t believe that for a split second) then why will every single one of us, wherever we are, be riveted by the match tonight?
I believe we can win. If I didn’t, why would I even bother?
Do I accept that FCB have not one, but two or three, of the most recognized talents in the world? Yes.
But have I watched Celtic F.C. recently? Yes. When you are young,and our team is young, reputations mean nothing except that you want to prove your own. You are busy making your own history. Anyone who saw Efe A’s exuberant celebration the other day cannot deny the adrenalised confidence running through our team right now. And if the likes of G.S. can get a run at FCB’s shaky defense it will put the fear of God into them.
They are not complacent. They will put out the strongest team they can and go for it.
Just like we do.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000
13:05 on 23 October, 2012
Good afternoon,
I am hopeful that we may achieve something tonight– if not then that is fine but there is a right good team in the making at Celtic Park so come on bhoys.
In the interim here is a wee observation on other matters from cycling to impending legal decisions of interest.
By the Rivers of Babylon and fifty shades of …sh.. Whyte?
http://wp.me/s1G95H-21
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Anyone fancy a wee game of “Consequences”?
That is a stunning post. Even by your mighty standards.
You have a brilliant way of diverting attention with trivia before getting to the point-or rapier-and then tying it up by showing how the “trivia”is central to the argument.
On the subject of mighty,THE MIGHTY TIM was out for a beer or,erm,two recently,and in good company too!
Another smashing fella,and I will continue to emphasise this-anyone on here who has not met up with fellow CQNers is missing out.
About a dozen guys and only one idiot ain’t a bad percentage (in my defence,I had been travelling for ten hours on the back of a nightshift)
The Mighty Tim and others will be there for the WEE OSCAR FOR LIFE Racenight.
Get along,meet with names and put the faces to them.
You won’t regret it,trust me!
PS-perfectly aware that not all of the company that evening was male. Her time will come…..