He loss to many ball possessions. He made wrong pass. His defense was bad. The last 3 matches shown that he's not the same Xavi we knew.

Most successful keeper in Europe not called up

Catalan news site Sport recently published several articles about FC Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés (28), examining why he will not be called up by Spanish national team coach Vicente del Bosque for the World Cup in Africa.

This is despite the fact that, according to a study published by Prime Time Sport, Valdes is indisputably one of the best goalkeepers in the big European leagues, based on his statistics. When compared with the other goalkeepers across Europe, the numbers show that Víctor Valdés is second only to the keeper for Benfica, Quim; unlike Valdés, however, Quim has not played all of the games for his team.

And while it might be argued by some that Valdés should not replace Iker Casillas, despite his better record, the same cannot be said for del Bosque’s other two choices, Pepe Reina and Diego López. It is a fact that Valdés has won the Zamora Trophy twice and leads the Spanish league currently with a goals-against coefficent of .58.  The coefficient for López is 1.54.  In the Premiership, Pepe Reina ranks fifth in that league, behind Brad Friedel (Aston Villa/USA), Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham/Brazil), Van der Sar (Manchester United/Holland) and Petr Cech (Chelsea/Czech Republic).

Valdés is the only goalkeeper who leads his league with the best statistics, yet has not been capped by his country. In Paris for the World Cup warm-up game of Spain vs. France, Vicente del Bosque commented on this strange situation:

    (Valdés) is having an excellent season.  He’s doing a fine job and we appreciate it greatly. This does not hide that I can understand the frustration that he feels about not being called up.  In the case of Valdés, it is due exclusively to the fact that a great competition exists for the position of goalkeeper.  That is my only excuse. All of the lists are contestable, and, unfortunately, someone remains outside and it might be that we are not correct.  From some parts of Spain they always want those from their land to come (to the national team).

Spain’s number one goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, also commented on the situation of Víctor Valdés, saying,

    In this moment there are so many and such good goalkeepers that this position could be covered by any of them.  Right now it is Pepe, Diego, and I, and it is a great pleasure and honor.  We understand Víctor Valdés, as well as César, Palop, Asenjo, De Gea, who could also be here.  With this competition,  we Spaniards win, because there is more competitiveness in the goalkeeper position.

source: sport.es
translated: totalbarca

I won't say he's underrated. But he's definitely improved his game. He's managed to cut out alot of the blunders from his game which plagued the earlier parts of his career. I think it's probably why Del Bosque is still unwilling to pick him. That said Pepe Reina and Diego Lopez are equally as capable as 2nd choice. To say they don't deserve it ahead of Valdes is unfair to them imo. Not to mention Palop is a good GK as well.

And also statistics is never the best judge of players. Barca have like 60-70% possession every game that one can argue that most games Valdes doesn't have much to do compared to Diego Lopez for example.

If you have watched liverpool playing a lot, I'm sure you'll agree that Pepe Reina gets nod ahead of Victor Valder.  He saved liverpool's ass a lot, simply the best performer + most consistent of the team. Just ask  eLm, besides shay given, reina is the best.

well even if he did been called, he probably gonna sit on bench, but it going to b massive of exp just to b in the worldcup,..i really want to see him playing fr spain, hope del Bosque will included him as part of his plan...

Then can you say for sure VV's abilities are better than both of them? VV has proven his ability, yes I agree. I have never said he wasn't good enough. But so has Pepe Reina.

The problem is why should Del Bosque change things up for the GK position when Spain obviously has an embarassment of riches for that position? Has any of the chosen 3 failed to perform for the NT in the 1st place?

It's not an excuse. It's a valid counter argument. And you're kidding yourself if you think a small team can squeeze 4-5 dangerous counterattacks with 30%-40% possession which I might add is spent mostly in their half.

Thing is if Spain had a problem with the GK position then it would necessitate a change. But since there is no problem why the need to change it up?

i watched reina play for liverpool, yes, he did made mistakes n great saves as well,, as for diego i dint watch much of his game, but critics does rate him good i guess most of us agree with that but how on earth he managed to b third choice?,,just by playing good? even palop n valdes r doing good..the point is, he haven't show anything yet  in big stages compare to his other competitors which right now is valdes...

it's the head to head record not goal difference.. plus their goal difference is actually higher than barca's.. i wonder how long u have been following la liga? it wasn't too long ago that real won the league via head to head record

watch at soccernet.espn. real madrid already top barca. how?

seriously we are better without ibra.. and another thing is puyol and gabi is not a good combination..
whattafreekick from messi 

definitely the best pairing. but pep always come out with puyol + milito.

“The players were warned and they do not learn,” he wrote. “Atletico, Racing, Stuttgart… after three bad games, they put in a good performance against Malaga.

“On that day, they were all willing to run. They were willing to hold onto the ball and to play in our traditional way. Their positional work was good in that game, they moved the ball around quickly, and all this work created a lot of space on the pitch.

“If they want to, they can play one or two levels higher than they are at present. As things stand, there are a few players who are not giving their all. I would invite them to look in the mirror and to examine what they have been doing and what they are doing now.

“It is a question of individuals but it impacts on the whole team. There is time to return to the top, but everything depends on the players looking at their own performances. If they do not recover their original philosophy and apply it on the pitch, there will be more performances like Saturday.”

Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2010/news/cruyff.../#ixzz0hdejnLg7

No more beating real in the bernebau for the champions league.

last saturday game..football friendly vs arsenal m'sia. lose 1-2 to them. 

but most important moment...posing time 

Now we just have to get lucky as well with the draw. There are a lot of outside things that decide whether you go through or not, like playing the first game home or away. I just don’t want to play against Barcelona.” ~Van Bommel~

poor pep 

4-0, we won.. 2 from messi, 1 pedro and 1 touch from bojan.. awesome barca..    

Yaya played more offensive that he usually does today, and did well, esp the 2nd goal and another shot in the 2nd half which went narrowly wide..

At the expense of keita?I really doubt its a good idea..

Anyway how long is xavi gonna be out?

we'll have a great advantage by playing 1st leg away from home.
i hope it will be a great game.

thanks god their are looking possibility to find a new striker next year to change ibra

why manu on the other side of the draw?,,im hoping that we finish them off b4 final n facing inter in the final 

anyway, arsenal now is the obstacle, without xavi, this going to b a bit tough especially to those who want to see xavi vs cesc battle..

tactical point of view, we hav a lot of potential players that can b put as replacement for xavi,, toure or jds for me could b useful not to mention keita since  they a bit vulnerable when the opposition trying bully them in the  midfield area , i bet toure will do fantastic job for that 

Messi in doubt for clash against Zaragoza?

Catalán news sources report that FC Barcelona and Argentine International forward Lionel Messi (22) did not train with the team this morning, and is in doubt for the game against Real Zaragoza at the Romareda tomorrow.

His was the most significant absence in a session where Xavi remained in the gym and Abidal worked separately on the field, to continue their individual recovery plans.

Messi is suffering from a dental abscess, and his participation in the clash against Real Zaragoza will depend on his progress in the next several hours.  He is currently under observation by the team’s medical staff, who were the ones that decided he should not train today.

Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2010/news/breaki.../#ixzz0ilkXGwp9