Barcelona Necesita Deco
It’s been too long since I posted. But the recent sorrows of my beloved squad has inspired me, and ignited within me a passion to state the truth. FC Barcelona needs Deco. The Portugal international has been a staple for the squads midfield, but a recent injury suffered against Villareal has sidelined the Barca star and even more so, hurt the Spanish giants in their attempt to get ahead of rival Real Madrid in La Liga.
In the 71st minute of their game against Villareal, Deco injured a tendon in his left leg forcing him to leave the game. He will not be available for the next 8 games including 3 Champions League matches. As much as Deco felt pain in his leg, I feel pain in my heart as I realize the future struggles Barcelona will soon face if they are to replace the remarkable Deco with the less than electrifying Gudjohnsen. Before we enter into why Gudjohnsen won’t be able to fill the hole, let’s first address why Deco is so vital to a successful Barcelona attack.
Ever since his arrival at the Nou Camp in the summer of 2004, his skillful and intelligent play has won over the hearts of fans as well as boss Frank Rijkaard. Frank soon made Deco one of the pillars of the midfield as he proved himself worthy of playing time and minutes on the pitch. Deco is a tactical player who gives the Catalan club a chance of controlling the middle of the pitch every time he steps out. He possesses good dribbling, passing, and crossing abilities, but his ability to make chances in the opponents territory is what makes him so special. His vision is remarkable, and his humility on the pitch and willingness to dish that extra pass to ensure a goal is what makes him such an irreplaceable part of the Barca striking force. He has a supporting role in the midst of a cast full of explosive offensive talent.
These very characteristics that make Deco so great, are the same weaknesses that make Gudjohnsen a poor substitute. Eidur Gudjohnsen was one of the leading assist providers in the EPL during his ‘glory’ days at Chelsea, however the style of football he has shown thus far has been anything but ‘glorious.’ Eidur is a great player, don’t get me wrong, but if Rijkaard is to rely on this Iceland international, the midfield and possession of this squad is in for a world of hurt. The answer to the loss of Deco lies in the improvement of players like Iniesta, and Ronaldhino. But as shown in their match yesterday against the Scottish champions, neither seem up to the task. At least for now.
Deco is just another notch on the belt of injuries suffered by Barcelona. Zambrotta, Yaya Toure, Marquez, and of course Samuel Eto’o, are all other key players that Barca are forced to continue without. If you are a Barca fan, pray to the football Gods that healing is on the horizon. Because if it is not, the Spanish giants could be in for a tumble.
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Completely agree with this article. Never understood why people thought Deco was on his way out (to Newcastle of all places?!). I was wondering if Rijkaard actually thought Deco was surplus to requirements with the rise of Dos Santos & the acquisition of Toure. Deco’s the kind of player that can actually settle the team down during tough spells & still have the creative spark to fire them up at the same time.
Another thing you might have elaborated on was why Rijkaard has changed Ronaldinho’s playing position so many times? I always thought he’s much more effective as an attacking midfielder rather than an out-&-out striker. Whenever Ronaldinho & Deco come together in midfield its awesome to watch because they seem to play so well off of each other. Putting Ronaldinho just behind Messi & Deco off to the side of Ronaldinho seems to be the best combination to me.
Anyone see the similarities between Deco and Scholes, or is that just me?
Just you.
Scholes is a respectful player who usually plays by the rules and naturally inspires his team.
Deco, on the other hand, is a disgusting diver who cheats at every given chance.
For example, the Barcelona vs Chelsea games last year were marred by a series of playacting by players such as deco. The best part was when Deco took a dive and John Terry was at hand to boot the ball into his body while he was lying on the ground pretending to be hurt. Needless to say, he ‘miraculously’ recovered immediately and harassed the ref.
He representation of everything that is wrong with football. I would hate for him to play for my team
Yes, Deco’s return to form has a lot to do with Barca’s recovery at the beginning of the season, and it is good to see people recognising this. But the club are missing Toure just as much - the defensive solidity has gone since Toure got injured. And to suggest that Iniesta did not look “up to the task” seems to me exceptionally rash - he was one of the few players who looked like creating an opening, and he barely gave the ball away at all. Guilty parties were really Ronnie and Henry.
Gudjohnsen needs a run of games before anyone should judge him, something he has never had at Barca (who have a history of doing this to players in recent history: Ezquerro, Saviola, Riquelme, among others). What’s more, the comparison is weak in that Gudjohnsen’s goalscoring ability ranks far above that of Deco, whilst they both occupy similar spaces throughout the match, their overall positions are fairly different.
Deco is a cheat and a diver. Barcelona are a club of few morals and little integrity. They deserve eachother.
This isn’t a moral debate, so let’s keep that for another day.
Although it’s funny how Chelsea and Arsenal fans get so uptight about morals…
There may be some truth that Deco is the important cog in the Barcelona setup but it is ironical that he is the least glamorous among the superstars and hardly recognized for his contributions.
Touche Ahmed! That said, I can’t help but to think that Deco for all his qualities has a side that no fan likes to see. It applies to several top, top players, not just Deco. When people think Drogba, for all the goals he scores, will still recall his diving admission. When they think Pires, the dive against Pompey in 2004 still comes to mind first. Thats two from a big list. Thats the annoyance. I’m not doubting Deco’s ability. But what springs to mind my first with him are the games against Chelsea last year and the England vs Portugal at Euro 2004. Not crucial goals or indiviual moments of skill.
It seems some A**enal fans still haven’t got over Paris. Get your own house in order before you go around criticizing others. We’ve all seen plenty of cases of A**enal players diving. Same goes for Chelsea. What does Cheeseman think of Drogba I wonder.
As for Deco I don’t think he’ll be too badly missed. Toure will be back soon.
Nig/Ahmed Bilal- Top Posters!
Deco is only as disgusting a cheat as all the other usual suspects. Barcelona are not a disgusting deceitful team, get over yoursleves!
Steven Gerrard’s a cheat if you want one right here right now…
Nig, get own house in order?
Lukeygooner, Yes get your own house in order. That means before you start calling players from other teams cheats and divers, you should criticize your own cheats and divers, comprende? Or maybe you are like your wonderful manager and you ‘didn’t see it’ whenever one of your players dives or cheats.
And you have the cheek to talk about morals and integrity.
Ok, thats taken on board. However I did mention Pires. Obviously some sort of anti-Arsenal bias here?
It’s funny how English fans call foreigners cheats and divers. You need to look at your very own Gerrard to realize what a filthy cheat you possess. Pride of England, the cheating hypocite, Stevie G. LOL.
So biased! Terry blatently dived in the barca match at the nou camp to get a penalty, but noone remembers that, gerrard has loads of times, so has everyother player whos ass ur suckin on
Also.. joe cole dives more than a bitch, plus LukeyGooner i bet u dont remember the champions league final where Eboue dived like a pussy to get the goal scoring freekick
Awrite, enough of this Arsenal bashing crap.
Yes, everyone has the capacity to dive & most players have done it at one time or another. Its not nation specific either.
Yes, Arsenal players are no better or worse than players from the other Big 4 clubs not to mention the rest of the Premiership.
But here’s the thing. When Eboue dived to get that freekick in the CL final ‘06, Wenger publicly denounced him & said that it was unacceptable behaviour (despite the fact that they STILL lost & surely the team didn’t need that kind of salt rubbed into their wounds!) & added that he had personally told Eboue to stop it or face being fined or worse.
“It is clear there was no foul. I condemn and regret the attitude of Eboue. I have always risen up against cheating. Eboue cheated by simulating the foul. I detest simulation.”
Please tell me what steps SAF, Benitez or Mourinho ever took to rein in their players - C.Ronaldo, Gerrard, Drogba etc etc ad nauseam.
Wenger ain’t perfect either, but maybe if we focused on positive steps like these we wouldn’t be having moronic comments flying back & forth about an article that isn’t even about diving!
Cheeseman, you troublemaker, you…
Deco is a fantastic player, Barcelona need him, but they will survive without him as well if Rijkaard can get the others to play to their potential. Deco, on the other hand, has the potential to lift Barca on his own.
I cant disagree to the fact that Deco is a good player.
But the writer of this article has suggested that he should be credited solely for Barcelona’s recent successes.
That is not true! I believe that the Barcelona team has been suffering due to the predictibility in their play. THe coach has used the same formation and tactics for the last 4 years and everyone now knows what to expect.
Surely you can see the correlation between Barca’s bad run and the absence of Deco though?
Shaun, they had a bad run last year as well. And that was when Deco was fit and playing.
How do you explain that?