Santos vs Barcelona - CWC 2011 Final

Santos vs Barcelona - FIFA Club World Cup 2011 - Final

Santos part by (it's a) me (,Mario)

This is the game that brazilian football fans have been waiting for months, maybe years. The CWC final and its equivalents from the past are seen in Brazil as an epic chance for the glory of beating european giants in a serious competition. Victories like Flamengo's against Liverpool in 1981 and São Paulo's against Barça in 1993 (is that right?) are still celebrated decades later, and treated as important pieces of these clubs' histories. We know the europeans don't care about that competition as much as we do, but we like to kick their asses either way. This match in particular is really special, because Santos' got two of the most promising brazilian youngsters of the decade, the best brazilian coach in the last 5 years, and they'll be facing this Barça, one of the best teams of all-time. Realistic people know Santos has very limited chances of winning, but they'll probably be satisfied if they at least give Barça a good fight, like Estudiantes two years ago.

This whole speech is beautiful, but Santos hasn't shown anything in the last 5 months - and especially against Kashiwa - that could justify a more rational optimism. Ganso has been injured for most of the last 4 or 5 months, same with Elano. Léo is still not entirely recovered from injury and after Alex Sandro was sold, Santos' got no reliable LB. Plus Adriano - yeah, they've got one too! -, Santos' best midfielder defensively, is injured and didn't even travel to Japan. The kid could be one hell of a help against a midfield like Barça's. Elano and Ganso came back only a few weeks ago, Léo probably won't play, and Henrique replaced Adriano. Other factor that deserves to be mentioned is the fact that Barça is in the middle of their season. Santos' season is nearly over now, after more than 80 matches, I would presume. Neymar himself played like 73 matches this year.

Santos' ain't exactly a defensive side, but I expect them to play a counter-attack-based game tomorrow. They know Barça will have at least 60% and they know they won't have the energy or even the players to pressure Barça upfront like Real did, so it's best to accept that and at least try not to expose the defenders. Expose the defenders... that's the most dangerous thing that could happen to Santos. Danilo is a beast, but the other 3 defenders are kinda slow and will be destroyed if not protected and covered well. Basically, I think Muricy will try to hold the defense tight and hope for something magical from Ganso, Neymar or Borges in a counter-attack or something like that. Ganso in particular worries me. He's not at his best, both physically and technically, and wasn't even close to being influential enough against Kashiwa or in the two or three Brasileiro matches he played before this competition. And the thought of him facing Busquets, a guy who can stop Özil and make it look easy, is quite scary. Same with Neymar facing Puyol on that left flank, even though I know he can cause great harm if offered space. I don't know, maybe Muricy will surprise everyone and come up with a 3-CBs defense? We'll see.

Rafael Cabral

Danilo - Edu Dracena - Bruno Rodrigo - Durval

Henrique - Arouca

Elano - Ganso - Neymar

Borges

Something like this would please me

Barça part by Vickery

As a sportsman, you usually want to win for prestige, recognition, glory. You want to win to make your teammates, coaches, fans, family happy and proud of your achievements. Sometimes though, you just get the added motivation and desire to do more. And I'm not talking about finals, big games and the like here. No, I'm talking about the kind of motivation you wish weren't there, but now that there is, it drives you even more. For FC Barcelona, that kind of motivation has been present lately quite a bit. Earlier in the year Eric Abidal was diagnosed with a liver tumor and he came back to win the Champions League final in London. A few weeks ago, Tito Vilanova, Pep Guardiola's trusted second man, had a similar kind of operation, only on his parotid gland. He came back last Saturday to see the team win a crucial Clasico in the league. David Villa won't be with the team on Sunday physically, but mentally he most certainly will. And these boys will do everything in their power to win it for him, since it's the only title the Asturian striker hasn't yet won in his illustrious career.

On the playing front, Barcelona are a bit more decimated than they would've liked going into the game with Santos. With the long term absences of Villa and Afellay, Alexis Sanchez is doubtful for the game after picking up a slight knock in the game against Al-Sadd. Puyol, Mascherano and Pedro all got slight knocks in that game as well, but they are relatively unscathed. Having said that, the lineup could look like this:

Valdés

Puyol - Piqué - Abidal

Busquets

Dani Alves - Xavi - Iniesta - Cesc

Messi - Pedro

The worry would obviously be a lack of a more focal up front with Villa injured and Alexis doubtful, but the intention will be to dominate possession and to stop the ball from reaching Ganso, Neymar or Borges.