FC Barcelona

In this context, Amelia, we have written down here, letting them be on a journey.

Arajo because we know it, he ends up in a bad place at Barcelona-

Mm

...

Just think two tough ones at the top.

Liverpool four, Fulham three in December 2023, I believe.

Probably Barcelona, isn't it? Liverpool four, Barcelona nil.

I think that there's probably only one answer.

He's happy.

It's working for Barca because they saved his salary.

It's working for Liverpool.

And then he said, but it's a straight loan.

Yeah, no, it was-

Always make me laugh where Webby said Barcelona, which was Barcelona, for anyone who doesn't know.

Barcelona.

Barcelona.

You couldn't win a bowl of soup.

He...

Here's what I do think, that with the likes of Mbappé and Vinicius Junior in that top line, that actually, yes, Madrid playing on the counter is probably gonna be beneficial for them.

Like, we'll talk about Barcelona in a second.

Madrid could definitely beat Barcelona playing this way by just getting the timing of their counterattacks correct, right? If they end up playing in the Champions League later in the season.

They haven't got enough to dominate, but they do.

Yet I've got a suspicion that Mourinho there might work because he kind of feels right.

That s- that style of football is fine when you're getting results, isn't it? But when, when the results stop happening, esp- especially at Real Madrid, it's gonna turn toxic, isn't it?

It does have to get results.

Talking of results, Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5-1, um, I wanna say in a half empty Camp Nou.

I think Atletico Madrid was more of an interesting one because he...

They've played against them loads of times, playing for Barcelona.

And what a surprise that a player who's played eight years for Barcelona and won the League of Titles and competed in the Champions League and, you know, he got named in two World Cup squads and he's an international.

He's actually quite good.

Turns out he's all right.

But if he wanted to go, they'd have gone, OK, well, we'll have a look and see what else is out there.

I think the offers that he got can't have been ones that he would be massively keen on.

Well, if Barcelona come in for more Real Madrid.

over the course of the campaign.

The other big talking point from the press conference was his reaction to the comments from Ian Wright regarding Gabriel Martinelli and the comments from Gabriel Jesus just the other day when he was talking about how his transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona came about.

Now, I thought this bit was interesting because I'd said all along, whenever we discussed this stuff on the podcast, I'd said, look, I can't claim to know exactly what's gone on behind the scenes here.

And therefore, I'm not going to place the blame in either camp.

So we've basically got the reigning domestic champions of five countries.

Is that one of the toughest groups on paper or is it deceptively a tough group because the leagues certainly in some of the countries aren't particularly strong? We've avoided both Barca and Bayern, which obviously is good news.

But coming in the top four last time didn't do us any favours, so it's arguable.

I'm going to start with you, Sophie.

We have to work two to three times harder, he was saying, of African coaches this But his standing and considerable feats as a player made the four-time African Player of the Year a very different proposition, of course.

He's also got great experience of playing under some top managers, particularly Pep Guardiola, for so long at both City and Barca, where Torre won the Champions League as a player.

He also, of course, played under...

Roberto Mancini at City and he was the Italian's assistant when Mancini took charge of Saudi Arabia and this was Toure's last role even after Mancini departed prior to taking the Slovan job.

Yeah, which is worrying because Marcus Rashford didn't play for us last season.

So Marcus Rashford seems to have gone to Barcelona, been coached properly and come back a better player.

But I think Marcus Rashford has slotted in Rory on that left-hand side because Luke Shaw's on that left-hand side as well.

And they had a good partnership going before he left.

They've played a lot of games together and stuff like that.

But you're probably right.

You know, the coaching at Barcelona, the quality of players as well at Barcelona.

When you say that, and I hear it, not to pick holes in it, I don't think it's a great testament to Cunha that Cunha can't get that relationship going with Shaw.