Source: @90min_Football

Discuss the predictions/hot takes you got wrong.

Hansi Flick sees Toni Fernández as the alternative to Lamine Yamal whenever he needs rest or is unavailable. Toni is currently injured and he's expected to return in 3 weeks. Once he is back, Flick could call him up to the first team.

[Via: Sport 🥉]

Im posting this cause I'm unable to edit my post that I made yesterday on Peña saying how he has the perfect conditions to improve and become one of the best GK.

But some people here doesn't seem to understand. They think I'm saying Peña is the best GK for us or he will surely become a top GK. I'm not saying any of those things, I just wanted to say that he has the perfect conditions to become a top GK.

I understand that he is a perfectly average GK right now, nowhere near to a top GK and has inconsistency. But people just start yapping about how incompetent he is and then tell me all the areas that he lacks in without even understanding what I wrote in that post.

I know all of those, but what I was saying is with MATS out for almost a year, Szczęsny guiding him, Hansi showing confidence in him, playing for one of the best teams in Europe with the best players around him, he has the perfect conditions to improve, best anyone can ever get.

But fans in this sub hate their player so much that they can't even consider the possibility of their player getting better. They just want to verbally trash their player or want them sold straight away. Criticism happens everywhere when a player make mistakes or can't perform very well, but fans on this sub are beyond that.

Now someone will misunderstand this and reply with something completely different.

Edit : After reading the comments, I wanted to add few things.

1. We definitely need a top GK who has proven himself, if we want to compete for titles. Peña is nowhere near to that place now.

2. Peña has his flaws, he is shaky at time, get nervous around the ball, has weak hands, can't make amazing pass, was a disaster for us last season. I get all of those and I agree on that too.

3. When Szczęsny arrived at Barca after MATS got injured, I wanted him to start right away, especially with Bayern. But Hansi showed his confidence on Peña and imo he did okay, better than what he would do last season. Which means there is improvement, which means a possibility(he is still 25, pretty young for a GK). He still is nowhere close to a stable no1.

4. This is more like a player appreciation post, seeing improvement in our guy and wanting to see him do better. Not a post asking to make him our next no1 or saying for sure that he will become a top GK.

5. Although, if he can prove himself, which he is yet to do, i would be totally fine with him being our no1. There's no guarantee for that, but always a possibility. Leverkusen for example were an average team with average players. Some of us would have not even heard about these players. But after Xabi became coach, he turned them into individual stars.

6. Imo, Peña has the perfect conditions to improve and become one of the best. Now what he make out of it, only time will tell. But I hope he reaches to those top level. If not for us, maybe for someone else.

7. And thanks everyone for sharing your views, I really appreciate it, helps me to understand a lot.🙏🙏

Hello Culers,

As part of our ongoing effort to promote more content about Barça Atlètic, La Masia, and the Femení team, which was well received by the community, the r/Barca mod team is excited to introduce a new addition to the subreddit: The Weekly La Masia Talent Spotlight Thread.

Each week, we'll feature a talented player from La Masia, all the way from the B team down to the Cadet squads. This will be a space for everyone to share their insights and discuss the featured player's potential and performances. This will also be a nice thread to look back to when/if said player makes his debut for the first team.

​

The Player we will be highlighting this week is Dani Rodriguez

​

Introduction- Born on 7 August, 2005 in Astigarraga in the Basque Country, Dani Rodríguez arrived at Barça from Real Sociedad in 2020. Dani is a talented winger who can play on either flank, his primary position being Left Wing.

Dani joined La Masia in 2020 from Real Sociedad, joining Cadet A. During his first season he picked up a serious injury that kept him out for a long time

Dani recently extended his contract with FC Barcelona till 2027

​

Country: 🇪🇸

Strong Foot: Left

Position: CM, CAM, LW, RW

Playing Style & Strengths:

• Free-Kicks

• Technique

• Acceleration

• Vision

• Creativity

• Versatility

• Ball Control

• Dribbling

• Passing Ability

• Change of pace

• Great in tight spaces

• Positioning

• Balance

• Close Control

• Low centre of gravity

​

Career Stats:

For Juvenil B he picked up 3⚽️ 2🅰️ & won a penalty.

For Juvenil A he has 4⚽️& 6🅰️

He has played 12 matches in UEFA Youth League, managing 5 Goals⚽️ and 4 Assists🅰️

Dani has played 12 matches for Barca Atletic, managing 2 assists🅰️

Dani has managed 5 Goals⚽️ and 2 Assists🅰️ for Spain U-19

​

Dani was a major part of the U-19 European Championship which Spain won, adding an international trophy to his career pretty early, scoring a goal and and providing an assist in the tournament

​

Dani would have been a major part of Albert Sanchez’s Barca Atletic side this season but he sadly picked up a hamstring injury in September, which sidelined him for 3 months. Dani is still recovering from the injury

​

Dani Rodriguez in action:

Dani Rodríguez Highlights with Spain U19 | Euro U19

Dani Rodríguez vs Córdoba | 16/06/2024

Dani Rodriguez 2024 Season

Dani Rodriguez vs Celta Vigo B

Dani Rodriguez vs Porto

Dani Rodriguez vs UE Corenella

Dani Rodriguez 💫

​

Dani is one of the most talented prospects in La Masia, who will very soon make it into the first team, if all goes well. For now, we wish him a speedy recovery

#FT: Barcelona 7-0 St. Pölten

Venue: Estadi Johan Cruyff

Auto-refreshing reddit comments link

LINE-UPS

Barcelona

Cata Coll, Marta Torrejón, Ingrid Syrstad Engen, Ona Batlle (Esmee Brugts), Jana Fernández, Keira Walsh (Patri Guijarro), Kika Nazareth, Aitana Bonmatí (Alexia Putellas), Ewa Pajor (Caroline Graham Hansen), Clàudia Pina (Alba Caño), Vicky López.

Subs: Mapi León, Gemma Font, Judit Pujols, Irene Paredes, Ellie Roebuck, Sydney Schertenleib.

^____________________________

St. Pölten

Carina Schlüter, Kamila Dubcova, Tea Vracevic, Anna Johanning, Chiara D'Angelo, Rita Schumacher, Sophie Hillebrand, Maria Mikolajova (Tea Krznaric), Melike Pekel, Melanie Brunnthaler, Valentina Mädl (Andrea Glibo).

Subs: Melissa Abiral, Laura Sieger.

MATCH EVENTS | via ESPN

32' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 1, St. Pölten Women 0. Ewa Pajor (Barcelona Femenino) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ona Batlle.

38' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 2, St. Pölten Women 0. Kika Nazareth (Barcelona Femenino) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.

40' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 3, St. Pölten Women 0. Ewa Pajor (Barcelona Femenino) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Aitana Bonmatí.

42' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 4, St. Pölten Women 0. Keira Walsh (Barcelona Femenino) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Kika Nazareth.

45' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 5, St. Pölten Women 0. Clàudia Pina (Barcelona Femenino) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Vicky López with a cross.

45' Substitution, St. Pölten Women. Tea Krznaric replaces Mária Mikolajová.

52' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 6, St. Pölten Women 0. Clàudia Pina (Barcelona Femenino) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.

58' Substitution, Barcelona Femenino. Caroline Hansen replaces Ewa Pajor.

58' Substitution, Barcelona Femenino. Alexia Putellas replaces Aitana Bonmatí.

68' Substitution, Barcelona Femenino. Patri Guijarro replaces Keira Walsh.

68' Substitution, Barcelona Femenino. Esmee Brugts replaces Ona Batlle.

73' Substitution, St. Pölten Women. Andrea Glibo replaces Valentina Mädl.

78' Substitution, Barcelona Femenino. Alba Caño replaces Clàudia Pina.

87' Goal! Barcelona Femenino 7, St. Pölten Women 0. Caroline Hansen (Barcelona Femenino) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Patri Guijarro.

^(Don't see a thread for a match you're watching?) ^(Click here) ^(to learn how to request a match thread from this bot.)

best RB in the world right now! love kounde!

Vent out your frustrations. Be it about Barça, football or anything else.

Hear me out guys, Peña has the conditions to become one of the best GKs. He is playing for one of the best clubs in Europe. He is currently our first choice keeper but we have a replacement who is better than him, he knows that which forces him to perform better.

Szczęsny on the other hands says he isn't looking at Peña as his competition, so if that is truly the case, he can teach him a lot on how to be confident as a GK, which I think Peña struggles with.

Then we have our coach who trust his players. Bayern and RM were out most important matches last month, I was hoping for Szczęsny to start, but Hansi played Peña. And tbh, he did really good. Last season's Peña would have conceded way more goals but that's not the case now, which means he has improved.

And finally he is really young for a GK. If things continue this way, if he works hard, and if the people around him continue showing support, he can become one of the best GKs in the world.

What do you guys think?

Hi everyone,

So, this time I am comparing our goal keeping prospects.

One thing I would like to state is that unlike stats for outfield players, I think that stats for GKs might not reflect a GK's true quality since it's a tricky position.

Initially, I wanted to compare at least two seasons. But, not all GKs have played 2 seasons in first division (e.g., Verbruggen and Valles), so I decided with comparing 2023-2024 season to this season's stats. I also wanted to compare them with Courtois and MATS for shot-stopping and sweeping but there were too many GKs.

I short-listed 7 names: Valles, Verbruggen, Chevalier, Costa, Bulka, Kobel, and Kelleher. Had to cut Kelleher because you can only compare 6 players at once. His stats also didn't seem that impressive to me. Here are the GK heights

Chevalier: 1.89m or 6'2
Costa: 1.86m or 6'1
Bulka: 1.99m or 6'6
Valles: 1.92m or 6'4
Verbruggen: 1.93m or 6'4
Kobel: 1.95m or 6'5

Here are a few basic stats.

1- Chevalier has the highest save %.

https://preview.redd.it/g4uhdeoozc0e1.png?width=1103&format=png&auto=webp&s=a01fc604646a8469291661038d141cc26ca5d7fe

2- Kobel gets the most shots against him per 90, which probably means that his team's defense is weaker and he's battle-hardened.

https://preview.redd.it/1fs8b02uzc0e1.png?width=1117&format=png&auto=webp&s=7093a083606efe549b8b09ba18edfba3404c03ed

3- Kobel makes the most saves per 90. Costa has lower saves per 90 because he also faces fewer shots. It's also probably why Costa's clean sheet % is the highest

https://preview.redd.it/7cn92ov30d0e1.png?width=1123&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b704384850af8949a784b746134a862219a2692

4- Bulka is very good at saving penalties. Has saved 41% of them. Valles is also good. Vertbruggen has saved zero penalties, which is similar to MATS in the last 2-3 seasons.

https://preview.redd.it/pw46du6q0d0e1.png?width=1134&format=png&auto=webp&s=a088ada499abb8f1a28c2e8ea4223fee7c919139

Advanced Stats

1- On fbref, there's a metric PSxG (post-shot expected goals) for keepers. It refers to the number of goals a GK is expected to concede based on their model. If you compare it with the actual goals conceded (GA), it gives you an idea of how many goals is a GK saving.

If the PSxG+/- here is in positive numbers, then it can mean two things.

1. The GK is great at savings goals(own goals aren't counted).
2. The GK has a better luck on average. Obviously, it's not a 100% error-free model to judge a GK's shot-keeping. Here are some numbers of some of our GK prospects.

https://preview.redd.it/t8zjlm441d0e1.png?width=1595&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c271d9ffab12affe4f22aa85dae3cbad02581ee

Chevalier has saved around 11 goals. Valles is next best. Both are saving around 0.21 goals per match. They save at least twice more goals per match than Bulka. Verbruggen is at the bottom but we do need to keep in mind that he's only 22. Costa's stats are the least impressive. He's in the weakest league out of all GKs and also the most expensive.

In case you want someone with Champions League pedigree, I am now sharing their performances in Champions League only. Only 3 of them have played CL. Kobel has been terrific -- saving 0.33 goals per match. Costa is good, while Chevalier is already getting headlines for his first CL campaign.

https://preview.redd.it/n7hohine8d0e1.png?width=1445&format=png&auto=webp&s=c229e6554965e71683ee970ae4c990838cbcc6c5

In case, you are considering Pena after his RM heroics, these are his stats -- the only one who conceded more goals than expected. You can also see him having the worst % in stopping crosses in penalty areas. His sweeping is good though.

https://preview.redd.it/uotnqrtcjd0e1.png?width=1541&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab6bd218f3cf8376ea599f4d533e06a03b67ad94

How is Ter Stegen performing?

At this point, I would change the topic for a while and discuss Ter Stegen's performance in this metric. Some fans want him to continue after his return.

You can see that after his great 2018-2019 season, his shot-stopping stats started to get worse until he did great in our league-winning season in 2022/2023 and then once again declined. So, if you feel that MATS level dropped after 2018/2019, the stats do support it.

https://preview.redd.it/z3xsges9cc0e1.png?width=898&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5a7e9b60f09d7ae2aa4881ec0c06a6cda61c9aa

At the same time, you can see Courtois' stats where he never actually conceded more goals than expected at RM. Courtois and MATS are same age btw.

https://preview.redd.it/bp0lc6flre0e1.png?width=815&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d61531314821194503ef8e4fdc7430e8a1e5110

Here's another comparison of MATS and other top GKs in La Liga, PL, and Serie A in the last 5 seasons. You can see clearly that MATS is easily the worst. Courtois has saved at least 41 goals while Alison has saved 21 goals. It's no surprise that these GKs are known for their shot-stopping. Also, note that some GKs like Unai Simon and Maignan were in their early 20s and even then they have managed to outperform MATS in his peak years. Even in sweeping Allison and Maignan are better and others are on par with him. At stopping crosses, MATS is 5th.

Here are a few more stats whose images I am not posting but would write here. MATS has the worst save % in penalties conceded and he also has made the most errors that led to goals based on both ratio and output. The only stat where's leading is accuracy in long ball passing.

I am only posting these stats to tell you guys the difference in GK standards between us and other top teams.

https://preview.redd.it/3m3uh6kmge0e1.png?width=1637&format=png&auto=webp&s=926436f3ac3ee90d5d188f4cae96acf86b323061

Valles is 27. Kobel is 26. Costa and Bulka are 25, while Chevalier is 23. GKs peak in late 20s, so they are yet to reach their peaks. This also makes me think that Chevalier might have a higher ceiling than others. He's highly-rated in France. His numbers have been gradually improving in the last 3 seasons.

https://preview.redd.it/5t7xzf4occ0e1.png?width=815&format=png&auto=webp&s=4863d01a50b3d7ae6061a2357d03ba95138993ab

2- One of the things a GK is judged is how they look against crosses in their penalty areas. Bulka and Chevalier have the best % of stopping crosses. Kobel's stats are poor in comparison. Pena is even worse, which some of us noted in recent match.

https://preview.redd.it/omwyrpi2ad0e1.png?width=1541&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4ce59862250165c28ae291d7b9c06b55d4fde5f

3- Sweeping is an important part of our play. OPA here refers to defensive actions Outside of Penalty Area. Valles is easily the best. Costa is second. I think these stats also reflect a team's style of play. Some teams defend deeper and don't require their GK to sweep more often.

https://preview.redd.it/7tqiykm6ad0e1.png?width=1577&format=png&auto=webp&s=87b8018c619b010c9f127e38ae75088e0397cadf

Passing
Short passing (passes that travel 5 to 15 yards) and medium passing (15 to 30 yards) stats are close. It's hard to mess them. The real challenge is long passing (more than 30% yards). Costa is the most accurate. Valles and Chevalier are noticeably weaker than others at long passing. Costa also sends more passes in final third and also sends more progressive passes than others.

https://preview.redd.it/ai2c3xrjad0e1.png?width=1332&format=png&auto=webp&s=79c0b597d0b471ddb78a455df26e21b70f74b278

Defensive Actions

1- Chevalier is a bit daring like Courtois and makes tackle attempts and interceptions.

https://preview.redd.it/3n2vy0gcbd0e1.png?width=1074&format=png&auto=webp&s=e1fa0188a79332e7130e99d120c12e007e77772b

2- Verbruggen and Bulka made the most errors that led to goals. Valles and Kobel are the safest. Do note that Kobel conceded the most penalties (2).

https://preview.redd.it/305x75zpbd0e1.png?width=1060&format=png&auto=webp&s=9b1329893c7f21402963a18c36d4f76df19a3b1e

Best possible signings:

Unlike strikers and left wingers, it's harder to decide who our best GK option is. I will divide these GKs into two tiers based on these stats.

First tier: Chevalier, Valles, Kobel, and Costa
2nd tier: Bulka and Verbruggen (he's only 22, so he can improve more than others)

If we want an elite shot-stopper, then our best options are Chevalier, Kobel, and Valles (in that order).

Personally, I prefer Chevalier. He has great stats and he's also only 23, so his potential is great. He's great at pure GK actions like shot-stopping and stopping crosses. The only concern with him is his long passing which I think can improve over time. Transfermarkt lists his market value as 25m. His contract ends in 2027, so I think we can get him for 30m. Although if his performances in CL continue like this, we might be competing with other clubs for a higher fee. He had some links with PSG last season and Donarumma's performances have been inconsistent.

Kobel is the 2nd best option. He's more experienced than others. His shot-stopping and passing is good. He has been especially good at shot-stopping in Champions League, which is his biggest plus point. Problem with Kobel is that he would be hard to get. He's one of the best players at Dortmund, so I think they are going to make it tough for us. Transfermarkt lists him at 40m. I am sensing at least a 50m asking price. His contract ends in 2028. Besides, he started this season poorly. Also, I just went through his injury history and he's injury-prone for a GK. He has missed 25 matches since 22/23 season. Chevalier, Costa, and Valles don't have problematic injury histroy.

Valles is a tricky one. He excels at both shot-stopping and sweeping. His long passing is poor. Based on overall stats, he is probably the best. But, there are some concerns with him. First, this was his first season in 1st division (La Liga). He has played in Segunda until 2023, so I don't know if he can adapt at a higher level at Barcelona.

Second, his stats in these post only show 2023-2024 numbers since he was benched this season for not renewing. I don't know if being on the bench would make him rusty and affect his performances next season. People with better footballing sense and experience can tell this better in comments. When it comes to value for money, I think he's our best bet because he will be a free transfer and our FFP situation isn't too positive.

Costa's sweeping and passing stats are great. Tactically, he's the best fit for Flick's system. But, his shot-stopping stats are poor compared to others. Costa is also the most expensive option in this list, which tbh doesn't make sense. Transermarkt lists him at 45m and I have read about Porto wanting 50m to 60m. Maybe these stats don't reflect his true quality. For me, Valles over Costa is a no-brainer if you want a better sweeper.

In case we have FFP issues, Bulka might turn out to be a smart signing. Bulka's shot-stopping is on par with Kobel, he can pass well, and leads in stopping crosses and stopping penalties. He's also 1.99 (6'6) -- same height as Courtois. Bulka has two minor issues. First is that he's more error-prone compared to others -- he's 25, so he can improve in this aspect. Second is that his sweeping stats are the lowest, so I don't know if he can adapt.

Cost-wise, it might be our best value for money signing after Valles. Transfermarkt rates him at 20m. His contract ends in 2026, so we might get him for a cheap price. BTW, his agent is Pini Zahavi. We have some links/rumours with him a few weeks ago.

Verbruggen has good passing and sweeping stats. His shot-stopping is the worst among these GKs. He's only 22, so I think like Chevalier, he has a lot of potential to improve. At the moment, he's error-prone and needs some development and it's in his best interests to stay at Brighton. We need a proven GK at this point and should go for someone more reliable.

So, who do you think is our best GK option?

Just as the title says. I noticed that we really struggled without our golden boy dribbling past defenders on the side. it had me wondering why we don’t utilize Olmo on the wings more?

I know he wasn’t in the best of condition health wise last game, and I definitely wouldn’t play him there normally over the AM spot he’s been playing in when everyone is there. but when yamal is gone who else is going to step up as the wide player dribbling past defenders? His dribbling is among the best in the squad, it’s not world class or the most fancy but it’s definitely better than Raphinas or Fermins.

Thoughts??

Yesterday's match was clearly one bad day for the team as a whole as Pedri said, but some of the choices were the obvious culprit. I think De Jong still have ways to go in order to regain his full fitness and confidence, he plays as he's still injured in his mind and it showed in the last 3 matches where he played as a starter. Kounde yesterday was overwhelmed as he didn't have a fixed winger that drops back with him to cover nor provide him with options on the attack so the right flank was pretty much non-functional. So I think it might have worked better if Balde took that load because he's faster, a better dribbler, and more agile than Kounde. I didn't like Pedri as a CAM and I believe he performs better as a CM with the freedom to track back, recover, and carry. Please share your thoughts on the current best options for the midfield, mine are Pedri and Casado as the double pivot with either Olmo of Fermin in front.

Bernabeu, Reale/Anoeta stadium, Vallecas, Mestalla, Ceramica, El Sadar, Montilivi...These are some of the most difficult away games to play. In one of the previous four seasons Barça would've come out with just three wins and some draws and losses, but six away wins is pretty impressive considering Barça are top of league right now.

There are still some difficult away games like Balaídos and San Mamés (final game), but the second half of the season may be the most comfortable Barça has ever had.

We’ve been hearing about most of the injured players that will be returning this season, but what’s going on with Christensen?

It’s been complete silence for the past few weeks.

Anyone know if he’s coming back soon?

Discuss your potential starting lineup based on player performance.

1. We need more quality forwards. The same people who are against buying a decent winger / forward are the same people who are saying we are Yamal FC. Our attack is crazy thin, outside of our front 3, we have no good options on the bench at all.
2. De Jong & Pedri can not play together - Pedri is at his best in the pivot, we can not sacrifice him by putting him as a 10 just to accommodate De Jong, you either play Pedri or De Jong, not both.
3. Olmo is the best 10 we have - this ties in with the point above that Pedri is the best ball progressor we have and him and Olmo compliment each other perfectly. Olmo shouldn't have started on the bench especially against a team like this which always gives us problems.
4. Real Sociedad did to us what we've been doing to other teams. They were hyper aggressive with the press & didn't allow us any room to breath, more so that we even resorted to playing long balls. It's like we couldn't keep up with the speed of play.
5. Raphinha was nullified - He's not the type of player to create something out of nothing, he's at his best when he's making runs and finding pockets of space, only problem is that Sociedad wasn't allowing any space at all, which was made worse by the fact that our midfield did not have control of the game.
6. I cant really point fingers at specific players because the whole team was just bad. Lewandoski couldn't control the ball to save his life, Fermin I didn't even notice he was there until he came off, Kounde looked lost going forward without Yamal since they've formed a partnership etc

I am worried about this result? No. Certainly not as far as La Liga is concerned. The only thing that gives me concern is the UCL because we are going to encounter teams who play just like Sociedad was, if not better. I trust Flick to address these issues over the break. The only negative is that most of our players are going away with internal teams.

Full translation:

The Polish Football Association announces that Robert Lewandowski will not take part in the Polish national team’s training camp in November, as they prepare for the UEFA Nations League matches against Portugal and Scotland. The reason for the national team captain’s absence is a back injury sustained during a league match against Real Sociedad, which will keep him out of play for around ten days.

*Kind of Urgent*

Hey Culers,
Just bought my ticket for a barca v athletico match and it came with some perks that I'm unsure about - I saw an archived post on here about the gift pack being at Camp Nou but its currently under construction...Bit unsure about what it all means and definately want to make the most of the experience - please let me know if anyone knows what this stuff is.

Thanks