Guillem Balague - Sky Sports Expert

Nou Champs

Posted: 22nd February 2008 11:27

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Barcelona

Barcelona: this year's champions?

I'm going to make a prediction here and I'm going to stick to this for the rest of the season; I think Barcelona are going to win the league.

Guillem Balague
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Our Spanish football expert Guillem Balague looks ahead to another weekend of live La Liga action on Sky Sports - and he answers your email.

Got a question for Guillem? Then send it in here

Barcelona v Levante
Real Madrid v Getafe

Barcelona v Levante
6pm, Sunday, Sky Sports 3

The story of Levante is a fantastic one. They picked up seven out of 12 points from a period when the players weren't paid.

The club owe them 85 per cent of their wages from the last three months. Some players have sold their cars to pay debts, the banks were threatening to take their houses back because they couldn't pay their mortgages and it was a dramatic situation.

But this Wednesday they got paid and the ownership has also changed hands. The owner of 70 per cent of the club has given his shares to a foundation run by former players, former council members and fans. It's the Spanish version of the Share Liverpool FC scheme, if you like.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have got everybody back, including the stupidly-named four "Fantasticos".

Samuel Eto'o stayed on the bench against Celtic, Lionel Messi looked sharp, Thierry Henry scored a fantastic goal and Ronaldinho looked good too.

I'm going to make a prediction here and I'm going to stick to this for the rest of the season; I think Barcelona are going to win the league.

I know I've said differently before, but I see a momentum in their football. I see loads of problems as well, but it looks like they could go in the direction that Frank Rijkaard wants them to go in and they seem to be working harder at it than they were before.

So let's see if I'm right.

Real Madrid v Getafe
8pm, Sunday, Sky Sports 3

As we've said before, we've started to see cracks in Real Madrid. They've lost their last three away games and although they were a little bit lazy against Almeria and Real Betis, they deserved more than they got against Roma.

In any case, there is a problem with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Raul leading the side up front because they are a certain age and you cannot ask them to give the sort of commitment and hard work that somebody like Emmanuel Adebayor or Alexandre Pato would have.

They can't work as hard without the ball and that leaves the team a little bit unbalanced.

Robinho will probably be back so it will be interesting to see if Bernd Schuster picks him or Arjen Robben, who has become one of the bright spots of the last few weeks.

Guillem answers your questions...

WILL THEY CHE OR WILL THEY GO?
Hey Guillem, I'm a Valencia fan and have many questions regarding the plans of the team. Personally, I think the keepers are not of top quality. Is there any news as to what their ideas are for that position? Once the next season begins and all the players return from loan, who do you think will most likely stay with the club for the season(for good) and who will be loaned out or completely transferred elsewhere? SG, Republic of California.
GUILLEM SAYS: We have lots of Valencia fans asking questions every week. Maybe it's that there are so many things wrong that people worry and when they worry they send e-mails!

I have heard that the goalkeeping position is somewhere they want to strengthen next season, no doubt, but I have not heard names. There is already a list of six or seven players that Ronald Koeman doesn't want for next season. If you think hard, you will realise who they are.

But they are definitely not the ones that are playing now and definitely not the ones that have recently arrived. In that list I would include Nikola Zigic, Vicente, Fernando Morientes and a few others.

GUTI FEELINGS
Guillem, as a fan of Revista De La Liga let me first say I will be supporting Spain during Euro 2008! Secondly, watching Real Madrid's performances this season the one player who stands out is Guti. Is he playing the best football of his career at the moment because he has finally got the chance to step out of Zinedine Zidane's shadow? Also I heard you mention on Revista that Raul has a burning ambition to play in the Premier League. A team-up with Fernando Torres at Liverpool next season maybe? John Harkin (Liverpool fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: Guti is having a good season. I remember about five years back he was played in three or four different positions and played as a number nine and he scored lots of goals as well. So you can do whatever you like with him.

But as Schuster told him at the end of the 7-0 victory over Valladolid, it's great that he scored two goals, got three assists and was involved in the other two goals, but he has to give that every week. That has always been Guti's problem. I don't know if it's a lack of belief in himself, but there's certainly a lack of consistency.

As for Raul, he will never play in the Premier League. It's one thing to want it, but it's another thing to do it. He's renewed his contract until 2011 and that will basically keep him at Real Madrid until the end of his career.

But he is a great follower of the Premier League. I speak to him regularly and I can tell you he loves to talk about it.

LEAGUES APART?
Hi Guillem, I recently attended the UEFA Cup match between Bolton and Atletico and I have to say, I was not impressed by Atletico. I think quite surprisingly they lacked creativity in the midfield and apart from one header, they never really looked dangerous. I was fairly disappointed that they failed to impress. If Bolton had a top striker, I think we'd have put three past them. This leads me to believe that the EPL is the best league in the world. But why does it seem to be so different to La Liga? Is it that much more difficult for Spanish teams to up the tempo and be a little more physical - as they are probably the most technically gifted, I feel it would certainly make the league a more all round league. Do you not agree? Dean Ryan (Bolton Wanderers fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: I've heard a few people say the Bolton v Atletico Madrid match shows the Premier League is stronger than the Spanish League, but there are other ways to look at this.

Have a look at the difference between the bottom side and the top side in the Premier League and the bottom side and top side in La Liga. You'll see the gap is much closer in La Liga.

Have a look at what Spanish sides have done in European competitions in the last 10 years and maybe you'll doubt some of the big assessments that have been made.

But one thing I will agree with is that Atletico are a side that aren't very creative in the midfield. Their main problem is in central midfield and they haven't sorted it out yet. They try to create through the wings and that's the way Javier Aguirre likes to run his teams, but mostly it's down to what Segio Aguero and Diego Forlan do.

They are a side that looks better and more solid last year, but they still haven't got very good centre-backs or central midfielders. I'd say they are a top-six team, but I don't think they'll make it into the top four, even though it looked like they might make it at one stage. They've still got to progress.

Comments

Kamran Ahmed (Arsenal fan) says...

To Macky, I agree Roberto Carlos is world-wide known but to compare him to a legend like Paolo Maldini is not fair. Maldini is one of the greatest defenders ever because he made defending an art and very attactive hence being the first defender to get nominated for World Player of the Year in 1994. Carlos was great attacking but his defending was not that great and cannot be categorised a great defender. Someone like Baresi didnt get enough recognition but Paolo was the first to make defence to attack in seconds. Maldini has worl-wide respect for his contribution to football and nobody has a bad world to say about the Milan legend. Roberto Carlos' free-kicks also have been quite poor if you look at his stats and someone like Noberto Solano has a better succes rate than Carlos. Maldini is 'argubaly' the most consistant defender ever if you see his record since the age of 16 to 39 and going srong. He was awesome against Adebayor and man-of the-match at 39 and he is great because he reads the game like a book with audio subtitles. The Arsenal fans gave him a standing ovation after the game and realised how good the charming th guy is. Take a bow Maldini...Absolute legend you are!

Posted 12:33 25th February 2008

Hassan Raza (Everton fan) says...

Barca are only 2 points adrift of Real Madrid and they sure are going to catch up with them.Maybe next week or maybe when they visit Madrid they are going to catch up with them

Posted 12:17 25th February 2008

Redmond Walsh (Arsenal fan) says...

Hi Guillem, I'm an Irish Barca fan so sorry if I seem a little biased. I am so glad to hear your latest comments about Barca, I'm glad someone is on their side and I'm sure it must not be easy to say Barca will win the title since you are an Espanyol fan!! I certainly hope you're right, but just looking at the RM lineup against Getafe this evening, I feel they are missing something this season. Granted you have the blistering pace of Robben and the the panache of Raul and Ruud, but I dont think they have the sheer attacking brilliance of Barca. Watching them stroking the ball around Parkhead for the first few minutes mid week, I thought they would destroy Celtic, but all credit to them they exposed Milito and scored twice. Also I think YaYa is a great addition to the squad, is the treble on this season I think so, but realistically I think the league and cup are within our reach. Also you can't compare the EPL with La Liga. What I wouldn't give to see Barca or Real do to mid table teams in the EPL week in week out!!!

Posted 00:08 25th February 2008

Ian Boyd (Everton fan) says...

Barca are the peoples passion. They are right when they say "mes que un club", they are more than a club. I was at the murcia game barca destroyed them and eto'o is firing on all cylinders. Hopefully this form continues and they go on to the domestic double and win the champions league too.

Posted 00:04 25th February 2008

Ramon Hernandez (Arsenal fan) says...

Good on you, Guillem. I am a Barca fan (There was no Barcelona, so I picked Arsenal). Barcelona haven't been playing the best futbol, but they are starting to. RM is slipping: a loss to Almeria, a loss to Betis, and a loss to Roma in the CL, all in a 2 week period. That 7-0 win against Valladolid was obviously just a fluke, since they couldn't repeat that feat in Andalucia against Betis. My prediction: Real will falter, just like Barcelona did last season, and Barca will take over the league lead and go on to win the title. RM will crash out of Europe, whether it's against Roma or someone else. And they're already out of the Copa del Rey. So... the reverse of what happened to Barcelona last season, is now happening to RM this season. Yep, it looks like it's going to be another 4 years without a trophy for old Real Madrid.

Posted 17:19 24th February 2008

Osvaldo paulo Muguambe (Arsenal fan) says...

I'm not a huge fan of Madrid but I do think that for what they have done so far they do diserve to win the league this season. This has been the most enjoyable Madrid side for years and for them to lose out on the title would be a shame. Nothing against Barca either, but come on everyone, we have seen better perfomances from this club, and in all fairness they should wait for next season

Posted 17:02 24th February 2008

Mark (Plymouth Argyle fan) says...

Madrid are generally dull and uninspiring, if Casillas does not save them, Van Nistelrooy does. They do not have the style or romance of Barca and never will do.

Posted 15:44 24th February 2008

Macky (Arsenal fan) says...

Roberto Carlos is undoubtedly a legend in Real Madrid and the sport of football itself. I just want to ask how come it seems like he isn't getting as much respect as Paolo Maldini, who many consider as the best defender? I think he deserved to have ended his career at Real. The team should have given him the same respect Maldini gets from AC Milan.

Posted 15:42 24th February 2008

Alexis Krmpotic' (Celtic fan) says...

To Kamran, There is something special about Barcelona that makes them have a lot of fans around the world. It is not only the title (they only have two Champions League) but the stadium, the colours, the city and, of course, the philosophy. Barcelona means show time: when they win and whenever they lose. Can Madrid buy any player they want? Are you sure? They got extra cash when they sold their land in their city (and they got Figo, Ronaldo and Zidane), but where are they gonna get it now? A new study presented at Birckbeck University this week has revealed Barcelona the club with more fans in Europe. You can't always believe these surveys, but there remains the fact. Madrid is a huge club, but Barcelona have something different.

Posted 13:35 24th February 2008

John Nielsen (Manchester United fan) says...

I hope Barcelona have got the momentum to turn things around and be the team we all have been entertained by. I not sure about Real M they are getting too inconsistent. I agree that they are starting to relax to much wich has been their main problem the past years. Having alot of money will never solve this. I would think they need to get rid of the players that are not willing to give their all for a full season. I bet this is why there are so few Spanish players on the national team, that come from Real. But I still think they might win the title. I hope Barca will give them a strong challenge for the title and hopefully end up winning the champions league.

Posted 13:34 24th February 2008

Pedro Munitis (Celtic fan) says...

Guillem, your prediction about Bar¿winning la Liga seems too risky at the moment. I don¿t mean they won't, but they have been just too unpredictable for the last two seasons. However, and considering the fact that all Schuster's teams don't keep the pace at the end of the season, you might be right. About the EPL vs La Liga debate: I would say that right now they are pretty close, but with all those pounds around things will change in the next future. After all money always makes the difference.

Posted 13:07 24th February 2008

Michael Rankine (St Johnstone fan) says...

I also believe that Barcelona have turned a corner and are on there way to success. At the halfway point of the season I thought the league for Barcelona was dead and berried, but now as the season comes to the penultimate finish I believe Barcelona will win the Kings Cup aswell as the Champions league and the La Liga Title.

Posted 12:33 24th February 2008

Tim Freestone (Rangers fan) says...

Yeah I agree Guillem. It seems to me as though Barca have turned a corner in the last two matches against the Bhoys and Zaragoza. This is particuarly so against Celtic, whom they completely destroyed, and with now essentially their full squad to choose from, they have easily the best squad of players on the planet. If they can hit the heights of a season or two ago, they will do the ECL and Primera Liga double again. Also, on the EPL vs Primera Liga debate, I am sure that La Liga is a superior league. I am a neutral (Australian) and watch predominantly English and Spanish football. The techniqual ability of an average Spanish player is much higher than your average English player. Once again, though, English fans are too blind to see it.

Posted 12:19 23rd February 2008

Gerard Walsh (Liverpool fan) says...

I know what you are saying about Barca, I would fancy them to win the title if they were level on points with Madrid, but they'renot, as they are 5 points off and still have to go to the Bernabau, so it really doesn't seem very likely, but football's football, so you never know. Still going for Real to win the title but I understand what you are saying.

Posted 15:50 22nd February 2008

Kamran Khan (Manchester City fan) says...

Why is everyone against Real Madrid ? I think they are the best team in the world. They have the respect and money and they can also buy everything they want. Everyone favours Barcelona and have other ideas for Real. I think Madrid are going to have more good luck and they might be as lucky in Europe as well.

Posted 15:36 22nd February 2008

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