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FC Barcelona – Gerardo Martino Needs Neymar to be Like Lionel Messi
People are so used to see Barcelona win every match, that every loss, not to mention consecutive defeats, is a source for talks about crisis and falling apart. Like it or not, the Lionel Messi injury is something extremely difficult to deal with, even for a team filled with game changers like Barcelona. Neymar isn’t the kind of player who does things on his own, and that means Gerardo Martino needs to find real tactical answers before the situation gets out of hand.
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FC Barcelona – Lionel Messi Makes Everyone Better
The Zlatan Ibrahimovic autobiography keeps creating shock waves, including taking obvious personal shots at Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi. While the manager has his Bayern Munich bosses to defend him, it seems the Barcelona star has Xavi doing his protection services.
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FC Barcelona – Lionel Messi Could Use the Rest
For now, crisis is averted. Lionel Messi is injured, but not for long. Still, Barcelona being able to comfortably build on his opening goal and actually extend the lead without having the use of Neymar is a promising signs for the times when both of them aren’t available.
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FC Barcelona – Andres Iniesta is the Future of the Midfield
Preparing for the day that Xavi can no longer do what he’s been doing so well for the past six-seven seasons, Barcelona have two players ready to take his place and “rule” in the middle without him: Andres Iniesta, and to a lesser degree, or simply different, Cesc Fabregas.
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FC Barcelona – Cesc Fabregas & The Year He Ends the Doubts
While Cesc Fabregas will never be dominant for Barcelona as he was in the Premier League, he is proving time and time again that at almost any role given to him, including the one Xavi has held on to for the last seven seasons, he’ll do extremely well, and doesn’t deserve the criticism he’s gotten from every corner over the last two years.
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FC Barcelona – Neymar Will Make Lionel Messi a Better Player
The most interesting aspect about the duo formed in the Barcelona attack with the arrival of Neymar is how will it affect Lionel Messi; as a galvanizing effect, pushing the Argentine to new heights, if that’s even possible, or actually become something that holds him back and limits his ability and influence on the pitch?
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Andres Iniesta Will be the Most Important in the Lionel Messi – Neymar Era
Next season, some of these conclusions will start being answered. The most interesting of them? Not seeing Neymar playing next to Lionel Messi, as mouth-watering as that prospect sounds. It’ll be exciting to watch, or at least wait for, but the most important change Barcelona have to look forward to is Andres Iniesta, the European footballer of the year not too long ago, moving more and more to the middle, and slowly pushing Xavi out of the lineup.