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World Club Cup 2009
Topic Started: Nov 12 2009, 01:44 PM (794 Views)
Martin
Advanced Member
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El Profe,Dec 19 2009
12:20 PM
It was a good game plan from Sabella and Estudiantes but they simply ran out of gas. But that is what a team like Barcelona can do to you, they make you chase the ball and them so much that you wear down. The game did remind me of the Barcelona-Chelsea Champions League semiifnal with Estudiantes, like Chelsea then, getting a first half goal, defending well and closing Barca down but eventually being worn down where they conceded a late goal. Once it went to extra time you just knew Barcelona would eventually score a winner as Estudiantes were just hanging on.

Messi gets the game winner but did practically nothing else in the game, as in World Cup qualifying when he goes up against South American defenders he is not effective. Yet he is the hero and FIFA's choice for Golden ball winner of the tournament because of that game winning goal. Frankly he was fortunate to still be on the field as with a yellow for diving he committed a 2nd half foul that could have been a yellow. But Archundia the Mexican ref spared him. Generally I thought the ref did all right though, he let the play go and Barca may have had a claim for a first halfpenalty when Albil caught Xavi but since the ref was allowing some contact to go without calling a foul, he had reason to let that pass too. The game was decided on the field of play and Barcelona's search for the winning goal eventually paid off.

What does Pep Guardiola do for an encore? He has won everything, he is yet to lose a competition since becoming Barcelona coach. As for Estudiantes, they get Jose Sosa eligible for the start of the new year and if they maintain this team and perhaps find one additional forward to help Boselli, then they have a good chance of returning to this competition in 2010 as Copa Libertadores champions.

El Profe's comments pretty closely reflect my views on the game. Estudiantes played an excellent first half but the second half was all about them just desperately holding on as they did not have any legs left. That became amplified in the extra time, so no surprise that Barcelona eventually wore them down. I think it really hurt Estudiantes when their excellent defender German Re left with an injury midway through the 2nd half. He was replaced by an inexperienced teenager (Faustino Rojo) and that forced change weakened the team.

We all know because of finances Copa Libertadores teams have to sell some key players so they enter the World Club Cup weaker than when they won the Libertadores. But last year Liga de Quito used their proceeds from this tournament to rebuild their team and eventually won the Copa Sudamericana earlier this month. Estudiantes are a well run club and they too have the opportunity to strengthen themselves for the coming year thanks to the $4 million they earned as runnerup in this competition. That may not pay Lionel Messi's or Zlatan Ibrahimovic's wages at Barcelona but it is an enormous windfall for Estudiantes.
Club Sportivo Desamparados
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cafetero
Advanced Member
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That is a good point about Re's injury effecting Estudiantes. Up till then they were absorbing Barcelona's attacks but when he went off and the inexperienced Rojo came on, the defese started making more mistakes and others had to cover for him opening up gaps which Barcelona exploited. What a fine game though from Cristian Cellay. He stopped every Barcelona player he went up against.

Andres Iniesta makes everyone who plays around him better but most notably Xavi. Iniesta's absence was felt by Barcelona.

A good game overall and one which I think shows despite the gap in finances the playing gap is not that large between Europe's and South America's best clubs.
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shelsoccer
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I, too, would like to think the playing gap between Europe and S. America isn't as wide as some think. However, I can't help but wonder if the fairly even results, including a high level of success by S. American clubs, isn't a result of the S. Americans taking the competition more seriously. I have to think a lot of S. American players envision a standout performance in the WCC as a ticket to a lucrative European contract.
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dafyd
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shel, I think the biggest difference between the teams in Europe and those in South America is the ease the European teams have in maintaining a good team. While Estudiantes are still a great team, they aren't quite the same team that won the Copa Libertadores. Barca, on the other hand, may actually be better than the team that won the Champions League.

There is also a matter of depth of talent. The best teams in Europe have that in spades compared to their SA counterparts. When you put them head to head, as you mentioned, the SA have a lot more to play for, not only the pride of their team, but to gain a Euro team's interest, and thus the chance to actually earn a lot more than they can at home.

Still many SA players will take more pride in playing for their local team, no matter what they might say to appease the fans of the Euro club they happen to be signed to. Some make no excuses, point in case the scorer of the winning goal for Barca. When his original club, Newell's Old Boys, needed money to do some much needed repair work on the team's training facility, Messi actually put up some of his own money to pay part of the costs... and considering he left the club when only 13, that says a lot.
Leper In A Stange Land
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enganche
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dafyd, Sebastian Veron is another who helped his club Estudiantes out of his own pocket book. Now that the club has new directorship which know what they are doing he does not need to do that anymore but it is no secret the close ties the entire Veron family has with Estudiantes. It would not surprise me to one day see him as the club president.

Not much for me to add to the discusison of the gae, Estudiantes with their roster limitations did what they could and came with a few minutes of pulling off the win. But credit to Barcelona who not only are an extremely skilled team but one with great character because even great teams don't always pull out wins but this Barcelona team seems to be able to do that no matter the circumstances. Their accomplishments in 2009 will be something people discuss years from now.
Prefiero morir de pie que vivir arrodillado
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