Page 2 - Monthly Archives: August 2016

8th August 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
It's remarkable to think that roughly two weeks ago Sevilla's president, Jose Castro, had almost given up hope of signing Luciano Vietto. Although Castro remained optimistic, he felt the lure of Barcelona would be too hard for the Atletico Madrid attacker to resist. "I wish we could sign [Vietto], he is a magnificent player, but I fear it will not be possible," Castro told COPE's "El Partido de las 12" radio show.

"He is one of the options our sporting director Monchi is working on. But things are as they are. If Vietto likes Barcelona more, he should go to Barcelona. It is important that players are where they want to be, so they perform well."

When Barcelona superstar, Luis Suarez, publicly praised the 22-year-old and said he believed Vietto would be a great addition to their squad, Sevilla's chances appeared even slimer. "Vietto is a great player. I really liked him when he played at Villarreal," insisted the Uruguayan.

5th August 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
Playing in Xavi's iconic number six jersey and in his old central midfield position, Denis Suarez certainly put in a performance that would've gained the former Barcelona legend's approval against Celtic, in Barca's 3-1 preseason friendly win.

After being purchased by Villarreal last term, Barca's decision to exercise their option to bring Suarez back for just €3.25 million was an easy one. After all, he's essentially like signing two new players, as he's capable of playing in many positions across both the attacking and midfield bands. Indeed, while his versatility makes him unique, it can also cause issues in relation to where he's most effective.

Although Luis Enrique started Suarez on the right hand side of central midfield against the Scottish champions, where he was brilliant, he then decided to deploy him as a left winger in the second half.

3rd August 2016. By Ryan Baldi.
FC Barcelona have undergone somewhat of shift in their transfer policy this summer, and one that hints at a further philosophical adjustment from manager Luis Enrique.

The Barça coach has chosen to operate with a relatively small squad during his two seasons in charge at the Camp Nou, and there is no debate over the fact that he has been incredibly successful: a treble of La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey marked a near-perfect debut season, and the last campaign saw Barça claim a domestic league and cup double.

Luis Enrique put his trust in a core set of incredibly talented individuals, and did very little rotating of his squad. The former AS Roma coach leaned heavily on the talents of the famous "MSN" attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar, along with the likes of Andrés Iniesta, Ivan Rakiti?, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué.

These are players of almost super-human footballing ability,

1st August 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
After enduring a 2016 littered with controversy, Serge Aurier's got a lot of making up to do in order to regain the faith of his PSG teammates and the club's supporters.

All his troubles began in February when an ill-advised live question-and-answer session on Periscope surfaced that showed him making derogatory comments against the coach at the time, Laurent Blanc, and some of his colleagues, including star men Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Angel Di Maria. A subsequent six match ban rightfully followed and the 23-year-old was forced to issue an apology. It read: "I want to apologise especially to the coach, I can only thank him for all he has done for me since I arrived in Paris. He wanted me and since I came here everything has gone really well. I owe him a lot and that is why I apologise sincerely to him for what was said, which I deeply regret."

"I will accept any sanction the club impose on me regarding this incident. I made a