I think Barcelona have been extremely patient with Ronaldinho.. I mean, it's been 2 years of under-performing. However Barcelona must give Ronaldinho more time, I doubt Ronaldinho will be the same old Dinho (at least not in Barcelona).. but Ronaldinho deserves more chances.

Barcelona have a very pronounced favoritism towards some players; examples - Juan Roman Riquelme; Van Gaal never gave him a chance, despite winning the Argentine League, Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. - Saviola; Proved time and time again that he deserved more time on the pitch, maybe even a starting spot, but Rijkaard never thought much of him. - Rivaldo, Giuly, etc, etc.. 

Barcelona haves a history of harsh managers (Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal, Frank Rijkaard, etc, etc). At least Cruijff and Rijkaard enjoyed success.

I agree with Gregory - Ronaldinho's time with Barcelona looks like it's coming to an end. And with youngsters such as Bojan, Leo Messi, and Giovani Dos Santos it becomes more certain. But, at least Ronaldinho can find a good team outside of Barcelona.

entusiasta:

I think Barcelona have been extremely patient with Ronaldinho.. I mean, it's been 2 years of under-performing. However Barcelona must give Ronaldinho more time, I doubt Ronaldinho will be the same old Dinho (at least not in Barcelona).. but Ronaldinho deserves more chances.

Barcelona have a very pronounced favoritism towards some players; examples - Juan Roman Riquelme; Van Gaal never gave him a chance, despite winning the Argentine League, Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. - Saviola; Proved time and time again that he deserved more time on the pitch, maybe even a starting spot, but Rijkaard never thought much of him. - Rivaldo, Giuly, etc, etc.. 

Barcelona haves a history of harsh managers (Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal, Frank Rijkaard, etc, etc). At least Cruijff and Rijkaard enjoyed success.

I agree with Gregory - Ronaldinho's time with Barcelona looks like it's coming to an end. And with youngsters such as Bojan, Leo Messi, and Giovani Dos Santos it becomes more certain. But, at least Ronaldinho can find a good team outside of Barcelona.

got sumthin against dutch managers lol?

No, as a matter of fact I regard Johan Cruijff very highly. I was just saying that Dutch managers are renowned as strict managers.

Louis van Gaal never gave Riquelme a chance because Riquelme didn't fit into his untouchable tactical system (the same sistem that produced one of the poorest Barcelona-campaigns ever). And this same Dutch manager also played Rivaldo out of position (something that convinced Rivaldo to leave).

Johan Cruijff also grew tired of Romario's care-free attitude, and even though Romario was the best striker in the world - Romario ended up leaving earlier than expected.

Another Dutch manager, Rijkaard' was also very quick in discarding Giuly because of 1 poor season. As well, as Rijkaard also denied Saviola 1rst team action (even though Saviola showed his worth time and time again). Rijkaard also dispatched Riquelme and brought Ronaldinho in, he discarded Riquelme just because he prefered Ronaldinho.

Dutch managers aren't my favourite, great managers, but not my favourites. I prefer it when managers accomodate talent rather than fitting them to a fixed tactical scheme.

entusiasta:

No, as a matter of fact I regard Johan Cruijff very highly. I was just saying that Dutch managers are renowned as strict managers.

Louis van Gaal never gave Riquelme a chance because Riquelme didn't fit into his untouchable tactical system (the same sistem that produced one of the poorest Barcelona-campaigns ever). And this same Dutch manager also played Rivaldo out of position (something that convinced Rivaldo to leave).

Johan Cruijff also grew tired of Romario's care-free attitude, and even though Romario was the best striker in the world - Romario ended up leaving earlier than expected.

Another Dutch manager, Rijkaard' was also very quick in discarding Giuly because of 1 poor season. As well, as Rijkaard also denied Saviola 1rst team action (even though Saviola showed his worth time and time again). Rijkaard also dispatched Riquelme and brought Ronaldinho in, he discarded Riquelme just because he prefered Ronaldinho.

Dutch managers aren't my favourite, great managers, but not my favourites. I prefer it when managers accomodate talent rather than fitting them to a fixed tactical scheme.

very good point.

- Rijkaard i have never liked. i think he has been lucky i.e. having players like ronnie, messi, eto'o, deco etc.

- Van gaal. I hate him. Australia offered him a job but he knocked us back saying aernt big enuf like england. But we had guus hiddink who makes van gaal look like an ameture. He went for the england job but did he get it? nope and sucked in to him as well. Oh by the way, he was hollands manager when they were qualifying for wc98. did they make it???

wc98 Holland made it to the semis, lost to Brazil

I think Van Gaal is a mediocre manager.

However I like Rijkaard, I don't think he's a great coach (like Capello, Cruijff, Ferguson, Wenger, etc, etc).. but I've always liked his kind of laid back attitude, he haves patience with his players, and he usually uses tactics that play to the players strenghts. It's a shame he haves a clear preference towards some players.

Anyways, Barcelona gave a wonderful display today, they played the same style of football they played two years ago. It was attractive and effective, it's been a while since Barcelona made such a performance, and it was without Ronaldinho and Deco. Samuel Eto'o, Bojan and Thierry Henry worked perfectly.. it makes me wonder how Messi, Eto'o, Bojan and Henry would click together.

I thought Ronaldinho deserved more opportunities in Barcelona, but after today I'm not so sure. I mean, Ronaldinho takes a while in passing the ball, he holds it down, and that 'Ronaldinho show' (as I call it) makes it imposible for displays like the one today.. Ronaldinho reduces collective play, and that is what I saw today - collective play - between Henry, Bojan, and Eto'o. I insist in that Ronaldinho deserves more chances and respect, but he shouldn't be a starter - he should be a substitute becasue Henry, Iniesta, Bojan, Messi, Dos Santos, and Eto'o are all playing better football.

patlmn:

wc98 Holland made it to the semis, lost to Brazil

ooops, my bad 2002 then.

entusiasta:

I think Van Gaal is a mediocre manager.

However I like Rijkaard, I don't think he's a great coach (like Capello, Cruijff, Ferguson, Wenger, etc, etc).. but I've always liked his kind of laid back attitude, he haves patience with his players, and he usually uses tactics that play to the players strenghts. It's a shame he haves a clear preference towards some players.

Anyways, Barcelona gave a wonderful display today, they played the same style of football they played two years ago. It was attractive and effective, it's been a while since Barcelona made such a performance, and it was without Ronaldinho and Deco. Samuel Eto'o, Bojan and Thierry Henry worked perfectly.. it makes me wonder how Messi, Eto'o, Bojan and Henry would click together.

I thought Ronaldinho deserved more opportunities in Barcelona, but after today I'm not so sure. I mean, Ronaldinho takes a while in passing the ball, he holds it down, and that 'Ronaldinho show' (as I call it) makes it imposible for displays like the one today.. Ronaldinho reduces collective play, and that is what I saw today - collective play - between Henry, Bojan, and Eto'o. I insist in that Ronaldinho deserves more chances and respect, but he shouldn't be a starter - he should be a substitute becasue Henry, Iniesta, Bojan, Messi, Dos Santos, and Eto'o are all playing better football.

does this mean he could be on his way out? because if they did play well without him, maybe rijkaard is getting prepared to sell him to milan

A very welcomed display from Rijkaard's men vs Murcia.  We must not look at the quality of the opponent, but the fact that Rijkaard finally got it right again even with resting a few 1st team players for the Copa del Rey game vs Sevilla.  Zambrotta was back to normal, a missing position which added to the team's dimension along with Sylvinho who should play more doing the same thing on the opposite side.  We must note that they easily discarded Murcia without Messi and Ronaldinho who were really not the reasons for barcelona's bad fortunes.  Eto'o and Henry showed what we've been missing all along which Guily and Eto'o did during winning titles.  My prediction is that upon the return of Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Yaya and Messi...Rijkaard would've finally learnt how to win again, so we wouldn't be worrying about how Barca are playing any longer.

I must say though that if Ronaldinho leaves Barcelona, Laporta & co. would've made a mistake for two reasons.  One for failing to get Ronaldinho back to his best so to speak and two for vastly improving Ac Milan's team to dominate Eurpope and all this due to their ego and pig headed behaviour as a club not willing to be humble enough to say honestly that Ronaldinho was not the reason for Barcelona failing to win la liga last season or going further in the Champions League, clearly noting that Marquez made it very difficult twice.

Nonetheless, with a plan of 100 million available for transfers...Barcelona must move wisely without sentiment for players.  Deco should be offloaded, along with Edmilson and one or two others like Ezquerro. 

Popular choices of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Ronaldinho are quite useful and decisive in winning trophies.  Unfortunately, Dos Santos i don't belive is all that good and ties Barca's hands to not being able to sign better players like Diego, Van de Vaart,  etc. I know players like Henry will give another 2 years so we can find other players then, but Dos Santos is 18 and is not as good as Crosas who was loaned to Lyon, so i don't think Barca will keep him.  He's no Fabregas or so, so releasing him is a wise move to a club like Valencia or something.

Berlusconi will not sign Ronaldinho, why?? Because they simply do not need him, and secondly because Kaka and Ronaldinho do not 'click', and thirdly because Pato is a great player in the making.

And also, Ronaldinho likes to be the center of atention, and by that I mean that Ronaldinho would ask for the number 10 (Seedorf's) shirt, probably not share the free-kicks (wich could cause issues between him and Andrea Pirlo), etc, etc.. Ronaldinho is a good player, very skilled, but in my opinion he would harm AC Milan's team chemistry. And besides that, Sergio Aguero would be a much better signing for AC Milan.

The Pato-Kaka-Ronaldo trio played really well against Napoli, and one haves to ask himself 'Pato-Kaka-and-Ronaldinho??' Why?? The reason Milan played so well against Napoli was that Ronaldo was actually passing the ball when he had to, why would they risk that by playing Ronaldinho (a player who likes to stand out by making his own-individual fantastic moves).

Barcelona should - either wait 2 to 3 more years until they finally conclude that Ronaldinho is not going to be the same, or sell him for a ridiculous sum of money to Chelsea.

I would like to see Messi, Eto'o, Henry, and Bojan playing together. By the way, Samuel Eto'o showed 'once again' that he is the key player of Barcelona.. two years ago Barcelona had a great team, Ronaldinho was outstanding, but the essential player for Barca's success was Eto'o (not Ronaldinho).

C'mon let's not get into biased bashing, Ronaldinho's form is the only reason Milan won't bother.  Ronaldinho does most of what Seedorf does except he's not as good defensively.  Pato is one for the future, he won't start every week immediately from now on.  The Ronaldinho purchase actually fell through a little time ago.

Those 2 or 3 years should spell the end of Henry's stint at Barcelona and if Ronaldinho doesn't recover and Barcelona still do not win the Champions League, i'll let you know why i preferred a player like Mutu or Amauri instead of Henry.

Barca's success was all of Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Messi ~ avoid being blinded to the obvious.  They worked well together, they destroyed Madrid together, they destroyed defenses together it was like a constant one-two punch from either Messi & Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho & Et'o or to a lesser extent but when needed Eto'o & Messi.  That is why there is no coincidence that ALL OF THEM got top awards that season.  Look around, they are no one man teams in Europe.  Rooney-Tevez-Ronaldo!  Seedorf-Kaka-Inzaghi!  Drogba-Lampard!  Gerard-Torres!  Any team who lacks consistent one-two combinations fall at the final hurdle.  You presist with a view that is a non-issue.  Ronaldinho was in form-Eto'o was fit-Messi was fit, Barcelona won back to back trophies.  He loses form, Eto'o gets injured, Messi struggles with niggling injuries, Barcelona struggles to defend their trophies.  C'mon let it go!  Watch and see when Zlatan and a couple front runners are out how Inter perform.

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Dude everyone knows that Milan won't bother because of Ronaldinho's current form, but it's still a fact that Ronaldinho is not the same old-Dinho, it's been 2 years of underperforming (make it 3 with the current season), and he's young.. I mean, he should be in his prime right now.

And as for Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Messi - Where is Deco and Xavi?? As far as I know, Deco and Xavi were the ones in charge of the midfield, they made Barcelona click (and it is no surprise as Deco had already won a Champions League with Porto).

As for Thierry Henry - today I saw one of the worst performances I've ever seen, and it came from Henry. He looked like a mediocre player, a really embarrasing display. But then again, this is a player that's been playing in the Premiership for years.. it is an acceptable excuse that he is still adapting to Spanish Football

And again -Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Messi- what's the point?? I get the fact that teams in Europe do not revolve around one guy, ex; Rooney-Tevez-C.Ronaldo, Robinho-Raul-Nistelrooy, Seedorf-Kaka-Inzaghi, etc, etc.. but what's the point? Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Deco were a devastating combination 2 years ago.. however, in actuality they don't play with the same flair and effectiveness. Times change, David Beckham was on top of the world 5 years ago - look at him now playing in the MLS.

What's your point Gregory? Do you mean to say that Ronaldinho deserves more chances, should Barcelona continue making excuses for Ronaldinho's displays. Barcelona is a big club, and great players have come and go, players such as Johan Cruijff, Romario, Rivaldo, Figo, etc, etc.. what's so bad about Ronaldinho's time at Barcelona coming to an end? He did his thing, won 2 La Liga titles, 1 Champions League.. he won Barca's affection and had some great times doing it - but that wasn't going to last forever, and unfortunately it looks like at just 27 years old Ronaldinho is already past his best (or in need of a new challenge and motivation).

Ok, who decides when Ronaldinho will peak, maybe he peaked already, because not many people in the world can top those two seasons.  Drogba peaked already.  However the thing is that they will maintain a level that is stil higher than the average star and that's what Ronaldinho is trying to regain, not a peak.

Xavi could've been left out despite your sentimentalities.  I'm not saying he's a bad player, because i know how extremist you get, but he was there before and his peak was not to the level of Eto'o, Messi and Ronaldinho.  However, again both Deco and xavi maintained a level that is higher than your average midfield star player up til a couple seasons ago.  For instance, Iniesta was able to putting Xavi & Deco on the bench showed the difference at the time between Ronaldinho & Messi vs Xavi & Deco.  The fact is that Deco and Xavi did their job, just like Guily who was also quite good during Barcelona's wins.

Let me repeat less anyone including Joan Laporta & Frank Rijkaard are listening, "Theirry Henry was not necessary neither was Eidur Gudjohnson!"  Both Henry and Gudjohnson cannot keep that excuse of adapting for very long a la Shevchenko in the premiership...There are players like Trezeguet, Mutu and Amauri who can do the job of Henry and who are all younger and less injury prone.  Perhaps they might've been less expensive too, but that's besides the point.

The reason you are so blinded by some cloud of illusion is simple - YOU DO NOT LIKE RONALDINHO!  Everyone around this football now can identify that Barcelona was full of flair because of Ronaldinho, no matter what story you try to concoct.  Everybody also know that Eto'o made the flair efficient and effective, while Messi provided another dimension of danger so it was not too predictable and dependant on Eto'o and Ronaldinho.  This can be easily proven.  While we all know that those were the more popular figures, Deco, Xavi, Iniesta, Guily and Edmilson/Marquez allowed some sort of security in cases of suspensions and injuries and still keeping the midfield stable.

You will never see my point, but luckily the powers that be seem to follow my point.  Management obviously recognises the contribution Ronaldinho made even up until the end of last season.  I am of the view that Ronaldinho's demise was partly due to a successful campaign through the Madrid quarters with others involved.  Even today, the media are trying to get Barcelona to sell Ronaldinho.   Ronaldinho gave Barcelona what many other stars couldn't get done ~ a champions league medal!  He came at a time when Valencia and Madrid were running all over Barcelona.  The impact was immediate and Barcelona soared to 2nd place with arguably throwing away a chance to win the league in the last few games.  In the last two seasons, Ronaldinho's key partner in crime, Samuel Eto'o was injured the majority of the time along with what I say the #3 in the trident, Lionel Messi.  Ronaldinho was given the task of going it alone...scoring goals, assisting goals and even encouraged to defend more while your other player mentionables escaped without blame of Barcelona not being able to maintain the early season advantage over their closest rival, Madrid.  Ronaldinho, not particularly a scoring forward, managed 20+ goals.  Meanwhile, this season, WITH RONALDINHO BEING OUT, nothing improved and to me, i don't know about you, proved that the rest of the team depended on for the most part Eto'o and Ronaldinho alot.

Therefore, Ronaldinho needs to be given ample time, faith and compassion in returning to full fitness and form, form more than fitness, since he should've been fit to start this season, no excuses made.  Your view on Ronaldinho far past his best is as myopic and backward in logic as people not using computers.  Deco, Marquez, Thuram, Henry, Xavi can be said to be far past their prime based on your logic, especially Thierry Henry if you're giving Ronaldinho a 2 year time frame.  The fact that Ronaldinho is still viewed as a very good player by many people shows he stilll has alot to offer to many teams including Barcelona and it would be a backward step for Barcelona to buy Henry and Gudjohnson and get rid f Ronaldinho ~ it defies logic.  However, i'll give some people this, Barcelona seem not to know how to maintain dynasties and dissolve them almost willingly to allow Real Madrid to regain dominance.

First of all , let me say WOW...i never saw this coming.  Good buy!  Deco has to be gone or maybe not.  The Barça and the representative of Alexandr Hleb, Maurizio Gaudino, have scheduled a meeting next week to close an agreement with the Belarusian Arsenal player.

As to immediate matters at hand, good win guys....6 more pts to go.  The complaining will soon start to come from Madrid again.  This time the pitch was too wet, as if Madrid doesn't do that every time Barca goes to the Bernabeu