Its Real Madrid’s BBC against Barcelona’s MSN as FIFA releases 23 man shortlist.

 Arsenal, Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Manchester City, Premier league, Real Madrid  1 Response »
Oct 202015
 

bbc vs msnReal Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo who make up the clubs attacking trio known as “the BBC” together with Barcelona’s fearsome MSN which consist of Lionel Messi, Lius Suarez and Neymar Santos Jr would battle other players in world football for the FIFA Ballon D’Or. The 23 man shortlist which was announced by FIFA is dominated by Barcelona players and that of course is because of the team’s success last term. Exceptional players like Alexis Sanchez who has been a sensation since his move to arsenal also made the 23 man shortlist. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard also made the cut along side Manchester City stars; Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure.

Current holder Cristiano Ronaldo recently became Real Madrid’s all time highest goal scorer eclipsing club legend Raul Gonzalez. Lionel Messi led Barcelona to a treble last season and Alexis Sanchez was instrumental in winning a trophy each for his club Arsenal and Chile in the Copa America. the full 23 man shortlist is listed below;

Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/VfL Wolfsburg/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich), James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester City), Arturo Vidal (Chile/Juventus/FC Bayern Munich).

 

Messi’s Shoes, Too Big for Neymar to Fill.

 Barcelona, Champions league  No Responses »
Sep 292015
 

FC Barcelona lost their star player Lionel Messi to a knee ligament in their weekend match against Las Palmas. It was supposed to be a knock he could shake off after minor treatment on the sidelines but it proved to be stronger than that and he was substituted few minutes later. It was later confirmed after the match that he had torn his knee ligament and would be on the sidelines for two months to recover. Barcelona fans immediately tipped Brazilian star Neymar Jr. to lead the team in Messi’s absence but it seems like that task is too heavy for the Brazilian forward as was seen by his poor performance tonight. Bayern Leverkusen took the lead in the 22nd minute when Kryiakos Papadopoulos jumped between Mathieu and Ter Stegen to head home a cross. After then, Barcelona needed a goal to go level and the best Neymar could come up with was a dive in the opposition’s eighteen yard box for which he was booked before his other attempt came off the post.

The first half ended with Barcelona trailing behind, they couldn’t afford to lose this one after drawing their first against AS Roma. The second half continued and the chances kept on coming but they couldn’t convert. Neymar was far from his best all night and it took the introduction of Sergi Roberto for Barcelona to level scores with just 10 minutes to go. Luis Suarez was again the hero as he got the winner for the home team just like he did during the weekend. With Messi out for other six or seven games, it is good to know that there is someone besides Neymar who can step up to the plate when the team needs him.