Spain

Let’s start with the national team with the largest quantity of Barcelona players, Spain. The FC Barcelona players who will play for Spain are:

• Gavi

• Pedri

• Lamine Yamal

• Eric

• Pau Cubarsi

• Dani Olmo

• Ferran Torres

• Joan Garcia

Spain is basically relying on Barcelona to bring the World Cup back home. Lamine is currently injured so we might not get to see him until the Uruguay game. I will be at this game in Guadalajara. Joan is the third choice keeper, unless things change. Pedri and Gavi will undoubtedly get plenty of minutes. However, I do think the majority of the players will get time in the tournament.

Brazil

Raphinha will get the chance to play for Brazil in this tournament. The hope is that Brazil will have a front 3 of Vinicius, Raphinha, and Neymar. If he doesn’t get injured, Raphinha can be lethal for Brazil in this tournament.

France

Jules Kounde will be back in the French squad for the tournament. France are one of the favorites to win the World Cup and I expect to see Kounde be part of the starting lineup going into the first game against the African Champions Senegal.

Netherlands

Frenkie De Jong was able to recover from his injury and has been training normally with the Dutch squad. FDR will be key in the midfield for the Dutch and the goal is to go far into the tournament. The first game for the Netherlands will be against the dark horse Japan. This will be a game to watch.

Portugal

Joao Cancelo is a key figure for Portugal and their hopes to win the World Cup. I expect Joao to be starting every game as there is no one in the Portuguese squad to take his place. Portugal’s toughest game of the group stage will be against Colombia.

Uruguay

Ronald Araujo will be in the Uruguay squad. Uruguay is in the same group as Spain and their clash in Guadalajara will an intense game. Not sure if Ronald will be starting but expect him to get some minutes during the tournament.

Egypt

Hamza Abdelkarim is in the Egypt squad for the World Cup. If you never heard of him it’s because he plays in the U-18 squad at Barcelona. He was on loan from Al Ahly, but Barcelona has decided to buy him permanently. A deadly striker that is in form. We might not see too much of him since Egypt does have Mo Salah and Omar Marmoush up front. However, this kid can be the future striker that the senior team needs to replace Lewandowski.

England

For England we have Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon. Both players are expected to be in the starting lineup in their games. Both can be clinical and can help England get through their group stage. There is a point in the tournament which they can face Mexico in the Azteca and could be eliminated early on. However, they will have to get through their first game against Croatia first.

I hope you are excited for the World Cup! Whether you are in the continent or going to watch the games from another part of the planet, I hope you enjoy the tournament. I will be at the Spain versus Uruguay game in Guadalajara on June 26th. Otherwise, I will be watching the games at the comfort of my place. My question to you all is - who is going to win the World Cup?

First Half

The first half started with Barcelona playing like the team of old. Everyone was pressing and playing champagne football. Very likely, most of the players watched the PSG and Bayern game and decided that they could play just as well as them. The team’s press was causing problems for Real Madrid and a foul near the box was the first threat. Marcus Rashford stepped up and scored a Lionel Messi like goal. Now Rashford is playing to stay at Barcelona since it has been reported that the club might not retain him. However, I believe if he is willing to lower his wages, then the club should buy him. In this game, Flick played Rashford on the right and it worked well. The second goal of the half came minutes after we initially scored through a phenomenal team effort. Ferran was the one who scored. The rest of the half had Barcelona keep control of the game and come close to scoring a third. Rashford actually had the 3rd goal in his hand, but just missed in the one-on-one effort against Courtois.

Second Half

The second half began just as the first half began, with Barcelona pressing. There were some tactical changes from both teams, but the effort was the same. Things started to get spicy when Asencio kicked the ball after a foul was called against him, which led to a scuffle between the players. There was little opportunities in the following minutes. Frenkie De Jong and Raphinha came into the game around the 60’ minute mark. Raphinha is finally back after suffering an injury with Brasil in the March window. In the 76’ minute, both Bernal and Lewandowski also made their appearance in the game. Another scuffle occurred just as things were starting to get a bit dull. At this point, I was hoping someone would have provoked Aurelian or Vini. Lewandowski would go on to miss an opportunity, which he should have passed to Fermin for the tap-in. The game ended 2-0 with Barcelona becoming La Liga Champions!!

Final Thoughts

The team played an amazing game to win a consecutive La Liga title. This league title keeps going and keeps the team motivated moving forward. Winning La Liga is always an honor, especially winning it on the top of the heads of your eternal rivals. The players can now rest, but I expect more minutes for the players who played small amount of minutes. I expect Hansi Flick to bring up a few more La Masia players. The team can also aim to get to 100 points. However, I rather the main players rest and get ready for the World Cup. Enjoy the day Culers! We are the Champions!!

First Half

This game started with Barcelona dominating possession. Bayern knows that countering is the only hope for the team to win. They have to become a team who employs a low-block against Barcelona. Bayern is a possession based team, but not when they play Barcelona. The first goal came in the 12’ minute with Salma Paralluelo scoring from a great Graham Hansen cross. Unfortunately this was short lived as Bayern hit a nasty counter and Linda Hallman scored in the 17’ minute. Barcelona scored again minutes later through a rebound hit by our Queen, Alexia Putellas. We had more opportunities in following minutes as Graham Hansen was through a few times. The half ended with Barcelona leading 2-1.

Second Half

Bayern tried to start the half with more intensity. Although this was short lived as Ewa Pajor scored to make it 3-1 on the night. It did not stop there as minutes later Alexia Putellas scored her second of the night to make it 4-1. The team was in heaven. This let the team get too overconfident and complacent which allowed Bayern to score. This goal gave Bayern the confidence to continue pressing and to attack. They had a few opportunities as Barcelona were just lost. Bayern had a goal disallowed in the final minutes due to a foul, however, it showed the complacency of Barcelona. Luckily, the team were able to hang on and won 4-2 on the night.

Final Thoughts

A 6th straight UCL final. This is an achievement. The team won today, but they will face Lyon in the final who are coached by Jonathan Giraldez, the former Barcelona Femeni coach. We got Aitana back, but without the intensity that is needed for 90 minutes, we will lose. Lyon is decent, but not invincible. We need to win the final otherwise, the season would be a failure. The femeni need to win the Champions League to qualify for the International Cup and the future Club World Cup. We can’t be the best if we don’t win the games that matter.

The game itself was fine. I did feel that some of the players lacked a bit of urgency. When Roony or another player made a promising move, no one else bothered to do something to score. The first half was pretty unproductive and we did not see the first goal until the end of the game. In fact, the first goal was in the 81’ minute mark with Robert Lewandowski finding the back of the net. Ferran Torres was able to score Barcelona’s second goal around the 86’ minute mark. This was not the end as Osasuna were able to score in the 88’ minute by Raul Garcia scoring for the home side.

The late goals made the game pick up a bit, however, the rest of the game was lacking. The hope is that the team is ready to go against our eternal rivals next week at the Camp Nou. Now we can win the league tomorrow if Real Madrid fail to win against Espanyol. However, I would prefer to win La Liga against them. Either way, the team should be motivated next week. Whether we will be Champions going into that game is to be determined tomorrow.

This game was tough. Getafe were doing “small” fouls that bothered our players. Pedri was at the end of these fouls. These type of fouls are small enough that the ref allows, but it disrupts the game for the opposition. Getafe are masters of this. The team had possession throughout the game, but Getafe did just enough to stop us. However, they were not able to stop the goals from Fermin and Rashford. Rashford’s in particular was a great counterattack goal produced on our on half. The 2-0 win puts us 11 points ahead of Real Madrid. We need to win just one win and one draw. However, if Real Madrid lose any more points before El Clasico, then we could potentially win the league in less than 2 weeks.

With Lamine’s injury, Flick has resorted to playing more players. However, Flick still plays the same players in every game. One of my key criticisms this season was that Flick did not give rest to our key players at times. We are now playing without Lamine and Raphinha at the front. Once we win the league, I hope to see more of La Masia in the games. Give Xavi Espart a starting role, give Tommy more minutes, let our stars rest to be ready for the World Cup. Let’s hope for a League title in next week’s time Culers.

First Half

This half was marked by the only goal scored. Barcelona Femeni scored around the 7’ minute mark. Ewa Pajor scored with a lovely touch. However, the rest of the half saw Barcelona struggle to do much of anything. For parts of the half, it looked like none of the Femeni wanted to play. Little effort was put in some of the passing and no desire to attack. We have the talent and arguably the best XI in the world, however, without a plan, the team can struggle as the commentators stated.

Second Half

This half was when the team seemed to be more inspired. Barcelona Femeni came out and had a few chances to make the game 2-0. The team had control of the game for the most part, but Bayern still were able to counter at times. Bayern were able to score at the 69’ minute to make it 1-1. Bayern women played the game they wanted. They knew that Barcelona were going to hold the ball, so countering was the only choice. A red card was given to Bayern’s Franziska Kett after pulling the hair of one of our players. This type of red card is always given no matter if there is intent or not. Especially in women’s football. This red card did not do much as the Femeni were not able to capitalize being one player up. The game ended 1-1.

Final Thoughts

It’s not over yet! Yes, the team was dominant with possession, but were not able to convert that into goals. I believe the Femeni will respond in the second leg in Barcelona. The team has already won the league, so they can focus on this semifinal game. To add more hope, Aitana Bonmati is scheduled to make her return in that game. The Femeni just need to do better and play with more heart. Believe Culers!

Femeni

The women won their record eleventh La Liga F title. No other team has more. The women won 4-1 vs Espanyol. The team were able to rest the majority of the squad as the team has depth. We started the game with a few 17 and 18 year olds. Clara Serrajordi has been able to do fill in the gap left by the injured Aitana Bonmati. The team also were thinking ahead of their Champions League semifinal this weekend. So resting their key starters and then giving them some minutes towards the end was important. This title win marks a complete domination of the women’s team in Spain. This was the seventh straight league title. Barcelona has invested heavily into the squad and now the women are at the pinnacle of the football world. The hope is that they win the Champions League this season. The women are obsessed with winning the Champions League every season as they always reach the final. Winning the Champions League gives the women the 4th title as they want to catch Lyon and their eight titles. FIFA has also created the Club World Cup for the women so the goal is to dominate world football. The women’s team domination will continue for years to come. I will cover the semifinal this weekend.

Men

The men’s team won 1-0 against Celta, but the headlines of the game was the amount of injuries Barcelona suffered. The game itself was difficult as Celta Vigo is always one of those teams that disrupt our season every year. We had chances, but our only goal came through a penalty. Winning this game puts us 9 points ahead of Real Madrid. However, we lost Lamine Yamal to a hamstring tear. We also lost Gavi and Cancelo, but Lamine’s injury is concerning as this might end his season earlier than expected. Beyond Barcelona, this also puts a bit of worry to the Spanish National team as the World Cup is less than 50 days away. Spain is the favorite to win the tournament, however, without Lamine, the team will lack in the attack. If the injury is a complete tear, then Lamine will be ruled out of the World Cup. Let’s hope that the injury is not serious and he will be at the World Cup. Barcelona can win the league without him, however, Spain will suffer.

First Half

The first half started with intensity. Atletico Madrid are not our main rivals in the Spanish League or in Europe, but they are in the top 5 in my opinion. Within 30 seconds, Lamine had a shot on target. Then Lamine scored at 4’ minute mark. The comeback was on. You could tell that Barcelona were going to waste a ton of energy to overcome the deficit early on. Olmo had an opportunity to put the game even but did not hit it correctly. Atletico did not sit back as they were countering whenever they could. Ferran scored the 2nd goal the 23’ minute. Atletico were falling apart. We were close to making 3-0 with a Fermin header but Musso’s leg caught Fermin in the face which cut open Fermin. Fortunately, Fermin is a warrior and continued. This bit of glory was short lived as Lookman scored at the 30’ minute. 3-2 in the overall score. Also to note, the referee was giving nothing to Barcelona. There was a penalty on Olmo which was not called. The half ended with the score 2-1.

Second Half

The second half started with the same intensity, however, Atleti was more compact and let Barcelona little opportunities. Ferran scored his 2nd of the night, but was ruled out for offsides. The match kept being intense and unfortunately, Eric was sent off. The foul itself didn’t make sense as it was not a clear scoring opportunity and was not the last man. This put us at a disadvantage, but the team kept pushing. We needed one goal to send the game into overtime. Unfortunately, the team was not able to overcome the deficit. Barcelona won 2-1, but were eliminated from the Champions League.

Final Thoughts

This is tough. We arguably have the best squad in Europe, yet we cannot get to glory. I keep saying that we can wait to win the Champions, but every year we get eliminated. The backline needs to be revamped. We have young CBs, but none with experience. We commit the same mistakes at the back. The rumors are that we will get Bastoni from Inter. However, we need to get rid of Araujo and Kounde. We have La Liga to win, but this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. We do have the Femeni who will make the final in the Women’s Champions League. At least we have a chance to win the Champions this season. For the men, finish the season and focus on the World Cup. Lamine can win the Ballon D’or with a great World Cup campaign. Stay strong Culers, we go again next year.

Now for this game against Espanyol, there is not much to say. The team played an incredible game with great transitions and attacking form. Ferran Torres even scored a brace against Espanyol. The game was a warm-up for the team to use to get ready for Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Some people were wanting Flick to rest some players, but winning this game also meant going 9 points ahead of Real Madrid for the league title. Pedri and Lamine played the entire game to ensure that the team won the game.

The game played out perfectly as Ferran scored his two goals in the first half. We could not keep a clean sheet as Espanyol scored one goal back in the second half. However, both Lamine and Rashford were able to score in the dying minutes of the game to seal the victory for Barcelona. Nothing Espanyol could do as they were not capable of winning this game.

This game was the next step for Barcelona to win the league. If everything goes correct, then we should be La Liga Champions by the time we face Real Madrid. Now the focus turns to Tuesday as we need to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Champions League. We have the players to do it and I believe we will do it, but whatever happens on Tuesday, I will continue to support this team until I die.

First Half

Atletico Madrid was able to rest some players over the weekend as Julian, Llorente, and Lookman were fresh for this game. The half started with pressing from both teams with Atleti being a little more aggressive in some challenges. Barcelona was able to put their high line almost immediately, but Atleti knew how to counter when needed. Barcelona had clearer opportunities than Atleti throughout the first 25 minutes or so. Rashford had a goal ruled for offside around the 18’ minute mark. Both teams were playing phenomenal football at this point and it was basically who was going to commit the mistake first. Barcelona, however, looked more dangerous as we had more shots on target. Unfortunately, at the 42’ minute mark, Cubarsi received a red card for committing a foul on Simeone and preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity. Julian scored minutes later via a free kick. The half ended 1-0.

Second Half

Going one man down meant half-time substitutions. The subs, at least for me did not make sense, as Gavi and Fermin came in for Pedri and Lewandowski. A complete offense change to the team. This told me that Hansi wanted the players to go all out, even with a man down. Somehow, this work for a bit. The team seemed more energetic in attack. At the 70’ mark, Atleti scored their second of the night. The team held out with the attack as long as they could. This didn’t stop Barcelona from attacking as the team kept going. Joao Cancelo and Lamine Yamal led the attack the best they could. Yet it was not meant to be. The game ended in 2-0 loss for Barcelona.

Final Thoughts

This tie is not over! Atletico were not better even after being a man up. The issue here was our defense and some decisions. The referee also did not call some blatant calls, but that is something we cannot overcome. If the whole team plays like they did in the last 10 minutes, then we can make a comeback. We should have a few players back like Frenkie and Marc Bernal. Pedri only played one half as well, so look to see him play the entire game in Madrid! Keep the hope up Culers!

There is not much to analyze in this game except for the fact that we will have to do our best to beat them in the Champions League. We already lost against them in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey a few months ago. The team will have to do exceptionally well at the Camp Nou. Pedri looked visibly tired, but he will need to do what he does best in order to keep the team sharp. The game on Wednesday has me worried, but if everyone plays the way they know how to play then we will be fine. We should look to win by at least 2 to 3 goals, otherwise, there is a strong possibility that we lose at the Metropolitano in the return leg.

Brace yourself culers. The next week could define our season. As much as I would like to win La Liga, the Champions League is more prestigious and important. These next few games are the ones that can make or break a season.

First Half

There was no doubt that Barcelona were going to win this game. The team scored the first goal in the 7’ minute with Alexia Putellas scoring off a rebound. It brings me joy to see Alexia use the Real Madrid shirt as a cleaning rag. The Barcelona team continued to score 3 more goals in this half as they dominated Real Madrid left and right. The Femeni scored a goal every 8 minutes. The women were in complete control at this point with over 70% of ball possession. The half ended with Barcelona winning 4-0.

Second Half

The second half started with less intensity, but with the same domination from the Barcelona women. The Real Madrid women started to commit more fouls as their frustration was showing. Caroline Hansen added her second goal of the night at the 53’ minute with a lovely chip making it 5-0 on the night. This also gave Alexia her second assist of the night. The team continued to dominate the game as they made Real Madrid look like absolute amateurs. The sixth goal of the night came in the 73’ minute with Esmee Brugts added her name on the scoresheet. The game ended 6-0 with Femeni putting 12 goals past Real Madrid in the entire tie.

Final Thoughts

The women’s team are the absolute favorites to win the Champions League this season. Their next opponents are Bayern Munich. The femeni put 7 past them in the group stage this season. The only team who has a chance to beat the Femeni might be Lyon who is coached by Barcelona’s previous coach. Even then, Lyon does not have the squad to completely stop Barcelona. Arsenal women don’t look like the team they were last year either. Keep in mind that the Barcelona Femeni team is this dominant without Aitana Bonmati who has been out with a fracture in her leg. She is scheduled to return by the semi final leg of the Champions League. Hopefully, we will see the Femeni lift the 4th Champions League trophy at the end of this season.

The only criticism I have is that Hansi Flick did not rotate enough for this game. It could be due to being so close in the league table, however, I would have liked for Pedri and others to have rested. As mentioned, the players looked visibly tired and rotations would have good for some. Joao Cancelo is still proving to be clutch as most of the attacks of the night came from his side. The goal came from a Cancelo corner. If the reports are correct that Deco wants to sign Cancelo to a permanent deal, then I am all for it. Everyone else played subpar in the game. Joan Garcia made a few good saves and kept the scoresheet at 1-0.

Most of our key players are going to travel for games with their national teams. Luckily, only Raphinha has to travel to the USA. Everyone else is staying within Europe. Most of our players are playing for Spain and luckily they are staying within the country. Hoping that everyone comes back healthy and ready to go because we face Atletico Madrid 3 times in 10 days. See you all in 2 weeks!

First Half

The game started hot. Barcelona were fired up from the start which resulted in a Raphinha goal around the 6’ minute mark. This was short-lived as Newcastle scored minutes later. The non-stop action continued as Marc Bernal scored the second for Barcelona only for the team to concede again to Anthony Elanga. The half was mostly characterized by the physicality of Newcastle. Eric started the game , however, he needed to be subbed due to discomfort. My question is why don’t players let the coach know beforehand so we don’t waste a sub? Maybe it is a pride thing. The half ended with Lamine Yamal converting a penalty. Raphinha was pulled back from an obvious clear scoring situation.

Second Half

No subs were made from Barcelona. However, the team came out with a different type of intensity. Hansi Flick must have let the boys have it during half time. Fermin Lopez added to the scoreline making 4-2. Minutes later, Fermin caused a corner which Lewandowski was able to convert to make it 5-2 on the night. At this point, I was hoping to score more so the Premier League fanboys could stop saying that their league is the best. Lewandowski scored his 2nd goal of the night at the 60’ minute mark. The scoreline became 6-2. Hansi Flick made a few changes here just to give rest to Cancelo, Fermin, and Lewandowski. I wanted Pedri to come off because he didn’t need to stay on and has been more fatigued lately. Also, Pedri is going to go play for Spain for the next few weeks. Raphinha scored again at the 72’ minute mark to make it 7-2. If only we were able to make more subs, because I would have let all the youngsters eat as well. The game ended with Sczsesny subbing in for Joan Garcia. Hopefully it is just a strain on his calf. Nonetheless, we are in safe hands. The final scoreline was 7-2. An absolute battering of Newcastle.

Final Thoughts

We are through to the quarter finals. Very likely against Atletico de Madrid. If we play like we played tonight, we should be able to go through to the semifinals. However, we could easily lose the tie if the players don’t play at their best. Hansi Flick needs to focus on getting everyone to top level fitness and hopefully nobody gets injured during the international break. Sleep well Culers, we live to go another day.

The first half had the team flying from the start. Joao caused the first penalty around the 6’ minute mark and Raphinha converted. The second penalty came a bit later as Raphinha also converted. Having Raphinha score is important as he needs the confidence for the game against Newcastle. The half ended 3-1 as Olmo scored towards the end.

The second half saw Raphinha score his third goal of the game for a hat trick. Joao also added to the scoresheet to make it 5-1. At this point, Flick made some key subs as the game was won and the focus started to turn towards the Champions League. This game also marked the return of Gavi to the pitch as he has been out for a long time due to his ACL. Gavi subbed in for Raphinha as both got a standing ovation from the crowd. The game ended 5-2.

The team played well and now seems focused for what is ahead. The game against Newcastle is going to be intense, but we should be able to overcome the round. As for the next president of the club, that result should be known in the next few hours or days. Although, Laporta is the overwhelming favorite to take the club forward.