Barcelona vs. Sevilla: which is the better side?
After a day of turbulent speculation, in which all of the panjandrums of modern football have come out with their takes on the departure of Jose Mourinho, it is time to turn our attention to two Spanish clubs whose future could very well be affected by the “Special One’s” future movements.
This Saturday (22nd September) sees the first blockbuster of this year’s La Liga season, with Barcelona hosting Sevilla at the Camp Nou. With the future of both Frank Rijkaard and Juande Ramos a matter of speculation (though Juande Ramos’ agent has come out today to deny any rumours linking the Sevilla manager with an immediate move to Chelsea, or anywhere else for that matter), the game should go a long way to highlighting not only the fates of the two managers, but also of the two teams in this year’s championship.
Whilst Barça’s stuttering start to the La Liga campaign has paled in comparison to Sevilla’s domestic form (the Andalusian club not only having won both of their league outings but also having taken away the Spanish Super Cup), the clubs experienced a reversal in fortune in the midweek Champions’ League group stage matches; Barcelona comprehensively dismantled a disappointing Lyon team, winning 3-0, with Sevilla losing by the same margin at the Emirates Stadium.
Confidence amongst the Barcelona team, therefore, should be considerably higher than the previous weekend, although Ronaldinho’s pedestrian performance on Wednesday leaves the Brazilian with a point to prove to himself and to the many fans who both cheered and then whistled him during the encounter.
In true Soccerlens spirit, I have decided to settle the question of which team is better by attempting to make a combined eleven, after which I will analyse the pros and cons of the two teams before going on to make a prediction for Saturday’s game.
Combined Barcelona and Sevilla XI
Goalkeeper: Andrés Palop
This decision will certainly prove controversial. However, Palop’s form over the last two seasons has been excellent, and he was long underrated at Valencia. His distribution is superb and whilst he may not dominate the box as well as some, this is more than compensated by his consistency. Víctor Valdes has without doubt improved a great deal over the last two years (people can no longer claim that he is THE weak link of the Barça starting eleven), but Valdes is all too prone to making howlers in crucial games (e.g. against Valencia the season before last), and is marginally less reliable than the Sevilla ‘keeper.
Right back: Daniel Alves
Despite the formidable talents of Zambrotta, this for me is a no-brainer. Daniel Alves is one of the most sought after talents in the world and offers pace, strength, crossing and shooting abilities, as well as the ability to form a cohesive partnership with the player ahead of him (unlike, say, Cicinho, who was all too often left out of position due to misunderstandings with Beckham down the right wing). Zambrotta is a superb player but lacks Alves’ devastating pace and trickery, though his crossing is pin-point and he can score the odd vital goal too.
Left back: Eric Abidal
Abidal has been one of the few bright sparks in Barcelona’s disappointing start to the season, and can lay claim to being one of the top three left backs in the world. He rarely makes a defensive mistake and can be devastating going forward; particularly excellent is his passing range.
Centre backs: Ivica Dragutinovic and Carles Puyol
English fans will be perplexed when they think of the vulnerable Khalid Boulahrouz at a Champions League club. However, Sevilla are not very weak down the centre. Whilst Gabi Milito has adjusted fairly well to life at the Catalan giants, Dragutinovic has a wealth of experience, being a member of the “Famous Four” Serbia defence, and rarely puts a foot wrong. Puyol, although injured recently and not in the team for Barça’s victory on Wednesday, has been a solid presence at the back for several years, not suffering the lapses of concentration and position of which Márquez can be guilty. Milito and Navarro are excellent players though, with the former getting the edge over the latter on the bench due to his age.
Right midfield: Jesús Navas
Another no-brainer for me, especially if we consider the Navas-Alves tandem in all of its splendour. Were it not for Navas’ personal problems (the panic attacks he suffers when away from his hometown and family), there would be no doubt in my mind that Navas would be a fixture in the Spanish selección and a transfer target for the world’s top clubs (I am sure that Rafa Benítez is aware of the winger’s talents). Navas is fast, skillful, direct, explosive, in short, everything one could want from a winger. Barça have few recognisable wide players as they like to accommodate several strong central midfielders.
Left midfield: Andrés Iniesta
Were it not for the tragic death of Antonio Puerta, he would almost certainly have taken this title. Puerta was a superb young talent and will be very difficult to replace. As it is, there are few candidates for this position in a standard 4-4-2 formation, as both teams have an over-abundance of central midfield players. I have placed Iniesta in this position as I feel he is consistently underrated and likely to be overlooked at central midfield, but a positive enough influence on the pitch to deserve a place. Iniesta is dynamic and versatile, pacey and with a knack of scoring vital goals.
Note: if the formation is changed to a five-man midfield or a more flexible four-man centre line, Lionel Messi can be deployed in this position to devastating effect.
Central midfielders: Yaya Toure and Deco
Whilst Deco seems to me a clear pick (even if he has suffered a downturn of form since his first season at Barcelona), the choice of Yaya Toure is again controversial. However, Toure would add a sense of stability and solidity to the team not offered by any other Barça player than Edmilson, than whom Toure is a vastly better player, especially if his forward bursts are accounted for. On the bench, Xavi again misses out – too lightweight, in my view – in place of Renato, whose overall contribution to Sevilla’s success is constantly overlooked. In this team, Deco and Iniesta switch around when they feel like it, offering some flexibility and creativity.
Strikers: Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho
Ah, this is where it gets really interesting! I have picked here what I think is a balanced team, rather than attempting to do what Frank Rijkaard has the unenviable task of doing: combining the attacking talents of Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry and the (fortunately for the ease of my decision-making) injured Eto’o. Ronaldinho’s form has been patchy this season and many, myself included, have been saying that Messi (along with Iniesta) is now the heartbeat of the team. I also feel that it has been well proven that Messi performs better when playing properly across the front rather than as a winger/striker. Equally, Thierry Henry is nowhere near full fitness, and Ronaldinho’s output in terms of goals can still be expected to be relatively high. In all honesty, Freddy Kanoute is probably extremely unfortunate not to make this side after his fantastic form for Sevilla, and he would undoubtedly make my bench based on form and not reputation. What one does with Bojan and Dos Santos is anybody’s guess.
(Nominal score) – Barcelona 7 – 4 Sevilla.
The conclusions one can draw from such a team are fairly simple: whilst Barça may have a higher calibre of player in certain attacking positions, Sevilla offer far more in terms of wing-play, and have some top-notch defensive stalwarts. One feels that I may even have been harsh with Sevilla’s lesser-known midfielders and attackers (Renato, two-time Danish player of the year Poulsen), but only this year’s Champions’ League will help us tell. Many will disagree with my team, and certainly the formation is debatable – however, the contribution of players such as Iniesta and Dragutinovic should not be overlooked in favour of those with heftier reputations and price tags.
As for the game on Saturday, scansion of the above team would suggest that Barcelona are vastly the superior side. However, it may well not prove to be this way, as Juande Ramos’ Sevilla are super-organized and extraordinarily hardworking, whereas the personal problems at Barcelona (on which I will expand tomorrow) are undermining the talent available. My prediction is a 2-2 draw, with Kanoute and Messi on the scoresheet at some point, and a near miss from Ronaldinho.
These articles work great with English teams, not so much when you try to shoe-horn a team like Barcelona into a 4-4-2
. Not much else to say other than Iniesta is a pretty sad choice for Left-Mid and you’re jumping on the Yaya Toure bandwagon a little quickly. Also this team would probably struggle for goals, much like Argentina did when they partnered Tevez and Messi up front a couple of Tuesdays ago against Australia.
If Hugo doesn’t mind too much I’ll throw in my two cents.
Barcelona have, in my opinion, far more quality on paper than does Sevilla. I would only name 2, possibly 3 positions where I feel Sevilla have a clear advantage: Keeper, Right Back, and possibly striker, in the old fashioned sense of the word, in the sense that I’ve always considered Ronaldinho and Messi to be more mediapuntas (I’m not sure of the exact translation of this to English, perhaps the best way would be to call them “#10s”), converted to do some of the work an outright winger would do, and Henry as a very different mould. In any case, the idea is to use what best suits your system, and I don’t think Kanoute would be well utilized in Barcelona, nor would any of the Barcelona attackers (save perhaps Eto’o, who is injured anyway) slot so easily into Sevilla’s system.
Barcelona have been very impotent away from home but at the Nou Camp they’ve not had much trouble scoring, and although Sevilla will always put up a fight – and maybe be even more motivated to do so after their drubbing by Arsenal – I don’t think, between the excessive games they’ve had to play, Puerta’s death, CL debut, Alves/Ramos rumors etc, that Sevilla is at it’s best moment. I expect Barcelona to win, without too much discomfort.
good reading… I totally agree with the midfield selections. You need balance in a team…cant just put star players in every position and expect a good result. Role players like that of Yaya is so important for a team. Take Adebayor from Arsenal or Andrew Johnson from Everton for example… not kind of strikers who scores in every games, but they hassle and run and make life very difficult for opposing defenders… and give the others more scoring chances. Just by having the best strikers doesn’t work all the time. Ask any one at the lane and they will tell ya.
not really much in the way of comparison as far as these two teams go… and why on ewarth do you put deco there instead of xavi?
Barca has the edge in the ability to diversify attack and mid field control with equally capable subs and don’t forget new hitmen gio and bojan
I think we might have a clearer picture of the composite XI after this weekend’s clash! Barcelona look equipped to make an early statement here and if they can keep Dani Alves quiet then they’ve got every chance. If I was Snr Ramos I would play him in midfield, otherwise he could be too caught up with Ronaldinho to make any attacking impact of his own.
Palop certainly looks more secure than Valdez to me. Interesting choice in Dragutinovic! Was it for balance ? I’d have gone for Escude myself – I think he makes less mistakes and his positional instics are better. Henry hasn’t proved himself worthy of this selection yet, but I think Kanoute has, I’d have him alongside Messi and drop a fading Ronaldinho to LM insteaed of Deco. Iniesta is my other CM with Poulsen. Toure has started well and is on form, but Poulsen still has the edge. Come back and shame me on Sunday morning when we’ve all had time to enjoy it!
Deco is there instead of Xavi because Iniesta can do everything Xavi does and much more, whereas Deco can do certain things of which neither of the other two are as capable. However, thinking about it, Deco is an odd selection, I think I was swayed by my desire to please the punters by putting in big names. In all honesty I would want my central midfield to be Toure and Poulsen, both of whom are on form, and to put Iniesta on the left as his dynamism allows him to be flexible. I don’t think Navas deserves to be left out of any team and I have been impressed with his form this season.
Kanoute to me is an enigma, as he is to any Tottenham or West Ham fan. But you can’t argue with his recent record and form and he probably deserves a place more than Henry. However, everyone knows how difficult it is to leave out a player like Henry.
Can’t wait for the game now!
i would say sevilla would win this 2-0 despite their midweek loss to arsenal there league form is great so far unlike barca
kanoute and messi up front
I am giving myself a mental pack on the back. Who is playing up the left? Why it’s senyor Iniesta. And who has been amongst Barca’s top players? Mr Iniesta
bettered only by Abidal and Messi. Nice to see that I know vaguely what I am talking about!
The game has been very tactical, it has felt like a Chelsea-Liverpool tie with BenÃtez and Mourinho looking to outsmart each other.
Hope you are all enjoying the match and hope you saw the pre-match ceremony! (50 years of the Camp Nou on the 24th, which is Merce here in Barcelona).
A pat on the back, not a pack. Gotta go!