The Ultimate Game: Get Inside Guardiola’s Head
This is your chance to prove not only your knowledge about the game of football, but also your psychological insight by cracking the code of Barcelona coach Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola’s master brain:
Predict Barcelona’s Starting Lineup
This is not (as in: N-O-T) a place for discussion on team tactics or personal player preferences. You just give the system and the eleven names you think will start the game against Bayer Leverkusen. Line-ups posted in the comments sections will not be considered as valid entries for the game.
Join us after the jump to take part in the game.
You can give your starting line-up until 1:45 hours before the start of the game (20:45 hours Barcelona time – therefore, predictions stop at 19:00 Barcelona time).
Those who predict the starting 11 correctly will earn a point for that particular game.
The one with the most points at the end of the season will be declared the winner.
Note: The rule of guessing your team before Guardiola names his squad and getting an extra point has been cut.
To get started, select a formation from the drop-down menu, and hit the “Change Formation” button.
No winners game 36 – Osasuna vs Barcelona.
i would have retired if anyone got last games line-up correct! lol
any news about busi, is he in line up?
impossible! no one can guess it =/
i already got it right 2 times…
you're not the only one =p like 70 % of the people who played got it right against the guys dressed in white who think they are the best but of course they are not because somos los campeones <3
OT-Quoted from bayer leverkusen's official website- http://www.bayer04.de/B04-ENG/en/_site_index.aspx
"It’s almost impossible to think of new superlatives for this team. What’s left to be said about Barcelona? About possibly “the best ever team”, as they are often described in Spain. About a team, that plays incredibly accurate football at the highest tempo, which looks so easy but is so difficult to emulate.
Sometimes the ball appears to move between the Barca players like a pinball, almost as if tied to an invisible piece of string, And the opposition is normally reduced to desperate and forlorn attempts to gain possession."
"And the opposition is normally reduced to desperate and forlorn attempts to gain possession"- they got this one spot on. some clubs, *cough moudrid cough* just become wildly desperate in a worthless bid to regain possession from those who are best at keeping it (Barca).
This should be easy:
Valdes
Alves Pique Puyol Abidal
Xavi Thiago Iniesta
Alexis Messi Fabregas
I go with u, mate.
Masch will play instead of Pique .. plus it's time Pique starts improving his performance.
i totally agree. pique didn't play well in the last game and the last few infact… he needs to be benched so that he can earn his place… mascherano def deserves a start for this game…
I think Mascherano will play since he is banned from playing in La Liga this weekend..
I think that Guardilola knows about this guessing game and wants to win over us – to stay unpredicted. that is the reason if his recent "experiments" – he just don't want us or anyone get inside his head!!
OK, Pep you win.
yeah right. he looks at all predictions and then tries to create a lineup that hasn't been predicted yet ;D
VALDES
ALVES-PIQUE-PUYOL-ABIDAL
XAVI-MASCHERANO-CESC
SANCHEZ-MESSI-INIESTA/TELLO
not to sure if the red that masch got apply to his game but hey!?!
That's La Liga, this is Champions League.
Champions league is a whole different experience..Love it
I think in the face of adversity just go brave and go all out. Offence is the best form of attack. Play without fear. — Pep Gaurdiola!
Alves–Pique–Puyol
Xavi–Cesc–Thiago–Iniesta
Alexis/Messi/Tello
Xavi or Cesc or Thiago to drop back and help out defence(important)
Xavi and Cesc interchanging positions thiago sitting deep in case of a counter attack
The front 3 interchanging positions
front 3 pressing high up the pitch(important), midfield spread out behind them excerting tremedous pressure(important)
3 full backs high up the pitch, in front of them 1 defensive mid all of them alert! (important)
not that nonsense we saw against Osasuna where every time they played the ball out there was a huge whole in our midfield, I felt like pressing my eyes closed everytime as if I was watching a horror movie
There are two chances of that formation – Fat chance and zero chance
Valdes
Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Abidal
Xavi, Thiago, Iniesta
Messi, Alexis, Cesc
Result : 3-0
Visca Barca!!!!
Valdes
Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal
Xavi, Mascherano, Iniesta
Alexis, Messi, Fabregas.. Thats the current strongest line up now..
Not bad. But.. maybe Cuenca instead of Piqué?
It would be also a 4-3-3 formation, without a defensive midfielder:
Valdés
Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Abidal
Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta
Cuenca, Messi, Alexis
Piqué is still in a bad form, but Cuenca… he is fantastic now.
I think this would be the best line-up.
that is very true
I know why Pique is in such a bad form, bcoz he`s fuc.king Shakira every single day ,24 hours a day.But hey who can blame him , if i was him i would do the same shi.t , ill fuc.k her till she cant breath no more ^_^ oooowwwwiiieee.About la liga we should just let it be, take advantage of it to rest our best players.So we can be the only one to ever win the Champions League back to back.thumbs up if you agree
change formation with…
valdes,
alves, puyol, pique, abidal
xavi, Mascherano, Fabregas, iniesta
alexis, messi, tello…… this formation will help barca because we are going there to win not draw or defeat, so playing tello is that he's in a good form and fabregas will help the midfield to control the pitch, good luck barca
Barca need 12 players??!!
you are badly mistaken,
and telo my friend. lol
i dont think pep will open with Tello, still too soon, he must prove himself worthy first (no, two and a half games is not enough). i think:
either..
valdes
puyi,pique,abi
alves fab busi (masch) xavi
alexis messi iniesta
or…
alves puyi masch, abi
fab xavi thiago
alexis messi iniesta…
Valdes
Alves-Puyi-Pique-Abidal
Xavi-Busi-Thiago
Cuenca-Messi-Alexis
tello should start ahead of cuenca and iniesta will probably should start to, so that we can finish the tie in the 1st leg!! well thats the wish anyway!
I agree with Josh
for a 4-3-3 that looks our best squad.
Masch in midfield? not right now for me
I just feel we should go crazy and come out swinging.
Make a statement, show the football world that the beast might be wounded but not dead.
Have like 75% posession, keep the ball for the first 15mijs
Just my opinion
Valdes
Alves- ABidal- Puyol- Adriano
XaVi-MASC-Fabregas
alexis-messi- tello
Pique won't be playing, he was in a car accident on his way to the Camp Nou today. But luckily he's not injured, yet missed the flight of course.
what…, are you serious?
Yes I am:
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3277/la-liga/2012/…
Oh, from that it sounds like he made the flight, that's good
amn…. that's too bad, hopefully nothing too serious… really, pique needs to step up his game. me thinks shakira is affecting his game…lol
thanks for sharing the article:)
Barca fans – what are the chances that Thiago will start in midfield? Or will it be Mascherano?
After seeing Pep sit Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas and essentially give away the league on Sat i think he wants to leave Barca and he wont sign an extension.
Everyone one could see that by changing the lineup/formation every other game it would cost us the league and he just kept on doing it. He never readjusted regardless of how we kept losing pts and falling further behind. 10 pts behind Madrid is embarrassing and im sure that he will continue to field weak teams and lose even more pts.
I would hate to see him go but I think he's gone after this season…. Something is obviously wrong and its a shame that he's decided to mismanage the team as a result of it.
I want Tello to start. He is our most in form attacker at the moment along with Messi. Since Masch and Alves are suspended against Valencia, I expect them to play tomorrow.
Valdes
Alves-Mascherano-Pique-Abidal
Xavi-Busquets-Thiago
Messi-Sanchez-Cesc
That's the lineup I expect. I would prefer Tello though. If Busquets is unavailable, then Mascherano to DM, with Puyol starting. I'm kind of hoping Pique gets a chance to play striker, but I know it won't ever happen :/.
Why is there no Puyol in your defence? I mean there are two certainties in life; Death and both Messi and Puyol play every game for Barcelona. I mean Puyol has been the best CB with Mascherano this season while Pique sometimes just switches off
We cant win the CL unless Pedro gets going again because Messi is tired and needs help so i would play Pedro……. Yes Fabregas has been scoring but he doesn't defend/press well and he gives the ball away too much.
Pedro has been out of form because he's missed a lot of games and playing him is the only way to change that……
If we can get Pedro going and and keep Iniesta healthy we will win the CL.
I think Pep will choose the strongest big game line-up that we have at the moment:
Valdes
Alves Pique Puyol Abidal
Fabregas Xavi Iniesta
Alexis Messi Tello
Tello would be the suprise inclusion. My guess is that Pep will play him because he rested him against Osasuna.
Alves—Puyol—Masch—Abidal
——————Xavi——————
——-Cesc————Thiago——
—————–Messi—————-
–Cuenca——————Tello—-
Valdes
Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal
Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta
Alexis, Messi, Fabregas.
Valdes
Alves masch puyol Abidal
Xavi busuquet thiago
Pedro Messi Alexis
Why does totalBarça persistently run what must be the most unflattering pic ever taken of Pep?
I went with
Alves – Puyi – Abidal
Xavi – Masch – Thiago – Iniesta
Alexis – Messi – Pedro
Admittedly I just don't have the best feelings toward Pique after that last match (glad he's ok though). :$ And I figured, may as well play Alves and Masch since they're sitting out the Valencia match.
Valdes
Alves Puyol Mascherano Abidal
Fabregas Busquets Iniesta
Messi Alexis Adriano
This is a perfect squad to start with since the game against valencia is only 4 days away. Pep needs to put a strong side 2day but with a little wisdom. Since Xavi got a little knock in his calf 2day, he should be rested for the weekend.