Posted on 03-30-2009 under Previews

Hope everybody enjoyed the international ball this weekend, although the Tigerblog’s Portuguese readers are probably walking on eggshells at this point. Good luck fellas.


We’re starting the week right by covering the midfielders in the big matchup. It’s only appropriate that I make the disclaimer that injuries may change the starting units, but in most cases I’m going to assume that all of those close to health will want to be on the field and that’s how the preview will take shape. Later this week, we’ll cover the substitutes, so all the the likely participants will be covered.


Technically speaking, Barcelona employs a 4-3-3 formation, and it says here that the starting midfielders for Barcelona will be:


Iniesta—Touré—Xavi


Both Andrés Iniesta and the antelope Yaya Touré have been fighting injuries but I expect that they’ll be fit enough to walk out of the tunnel and onto the field at the Camp Nou next week.


Xavi


Barcelona’s viper Xavi lines up on the right side behind forward Lionel Messi, and the two play with an almost supernatural understanding of each other and superlative one-touch passing. Xavi’s playmaking ability is highlighted by both his knack for making perfectly precise through-balls to players running forward and for his ability to always be in position to receive a pass. He’s essentially the anchor of Barcelona’s midfield and could certainly be regarded as Barcelona’s field general when the Blaugrana are on the attack. While he understands his primary role as a midfielder, Xavi will also makes smart runs past the forwards into the opposing penalty area, giving serious trouble to opposing defenses (particularly ones that are not organized). While his best work is done through attack, he’s a solid and smart defender who wins many 50-50 balls. As is true with the other Barcelona midfielders, he looks to apply defensive pressure in the opponents’ half, looking to disrupt their possession early and start a quick counter-attack.


Iniesta


In Andrés Iniesta, Barcelona have exceptional skill on the ball and wonderful inventiveness. He and Xavi are both hitting their strides as two of the best midfielders in the game. Unselfish almost to a fault, Iniesta’s ability to hold possession even under tight defensive scrutiny is tremendous, and he’ll be counted on to avoid tackles and maintain possession in the match against Bayern. He’s also gifted with great vision, so when Samuel Eto’o or Thierry Henry dash towards goal, look for Iniesta to pick them out. Like Xavi, Iniesta is not known for his defending but actually does a pretty good job challenging for the ball in the opposition’s half and marking opposing attackers when Barca are pushed back.


Yaya


Yaya Touré is a up-and-coming player who is becoming a high-quality holding midfielder right before our eyes. Sturdy enough to break up opponent’s attacking play while also a keen decision-maker in his distribution of the ball to his flanking players, Yaya is becoming increasingly vital to Barcelona as well as national side Côte d’Ivoire. With defensive teammates who like to get up into the attack (like Dani Alves), Touré is responsible for filling the gaps. When he’s defending, look for Yaya to be surveying the Bayern attack and anticipating and marking the runners.


Given that forward Luca Toni is healthy enough to start with Lukas Podolski at the top, Bayern Munich will be playing a 4-4-2. In the midfield, expect to see the starters:


Ribéry—Zé Roberto—Van Bommel—Schweinsteiger


Ribery


One of the most terrific players in world football is München’s marquee man, the dynamic flea himself, Franck Ribéry. Franck is known for his great speed, wonderful dribbling, and reputation as the team pranckster. While he always plays with a nose for goal, also look for the Frenchman to utilize the wing and whip in crosses (both on the ground and in the air) to find his big target Toni or the dangerous streaking Zé Roberto. Ribéry’s tackling isn’t so great, but he is fast enough to chase down most opponents and prevent them from having free run. It will certainly be compelling to see how he plays on Barcelona’s deadly right side, which features Alves, Xavi and Messi. Furthermore, there have been rumors in the last few months about Ribéry joining the Catalan giants, so look for him to try to impress his potential future supporters.


Ze Roberto


Next up is the ageless Brazilian Zé Roberto. Even at age 34 the central midfielder can still give opposing defenses fits with his sense of positioning and his pace while making runs at goal. Having played as a winger for Bayern as well as holding midfielder for Brazil (he’s since retired from international football to concentrate on his club duties), the versatile midfielder plays with great intelligence and heart. Look for him to seek to build a connection with Ribéry as the game starts at Camp Nou, as the two will be looking to feel out the Barca defense and try to establish themselves in attack. On defense, Zé will be very active and will most likely focus his defending on closing down Yaya and Iniesta, while also being responsible for starting counterattacks in the other direction. Also look for him guarding the posts on corner kick defense; he’s been seen clearing the ball off the line on numerous occasions.


Van Bommel


Mark Van Bommel will make a bittersweet return to the Camp Nou where he won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2005. A tireless tackler, the first foreign-born Bayern captain will be Munich’s backbone in midfield. While there is no challenge from which he will back down, he will certainly have his hands full with Barca’s attack. Look for him to play Xavi very closely with the intention of completely shutting down his former teammate. His physical play can be very frustrating to opponents, and he takes a good deal of pleasure in intimidating them. Look for him to earn a card in the match as his exuberance usually gets the better of him, especially when emotions run high, as they no doubt will in this matchup. While he will be focusing on his defending in this tie, he does have some skill with the ball and may take a few dangerous shots from the 20-yard range.


Schweinsteiger


Bastian Schweinsteiger is an enigmatic talent. While he is an excellent crosser and shooter, quality dribbler, good defender, and smart player, he hasn’t always shown the consistency to give Bayern fans complete confidence in him. He’s always played well in the big matches (especially for the national team). If he finds confidence in this match, he will surely be a handful. Recently he has seemed to hit his stride in both his play and his temperament, and München fans will be counting on him to come good against Barca.


How I see it playing out: While I’m expecting a tactical twist in these lineups (which we’ll go into further on Thursday), the basics still hold: the keys are disruption in defense and creativity in attack. But that’s not really good analysis. I guess I’ll be looking closely at how the teams pressure their opponents in the middle of the field. The team that has the most success gaining possession in midfield will be the team that puts the most pressure on the other’s defense, and I think this type of sustained pressure will be a huge advantage for the team that does it. Both managers have said that they don’t want to “sit back,” so dispossessing opponents in their defensive half will be an important way to exploit weakness. Both teams are fluid and athletic enough to do this well, so it will definitely be something to look out for.


The Xavi-Van Bommel and Zé Roberto-Touré matchups will also go a long way in helping us take the temperature of the match. Whichever of these attackers has the most success will most likely determine who wins the midfield battle.



For those who want more spirit animals, click the spirit animal category at the top of a previous entry. For the Barca-Bayern matchup, check out one of the first entries in the spirit animal series, Lúcio the musk ox.