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FC Barcelona returns to New York

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FC Barcelona is in New York.

No, really.

In case you have forgotten, or have been caught off guard by the lack of buzz about the game, FC Barcelona is in town to take on the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on Wednesday night. We here at SBI want to do our part to create some buzz so here is our promo for the event:

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for some amazing soccer action at Giants Stadium as Ronaldinho Lionel Messi Thierry Henry and FC Barcelona take on Jozy Altidore Juan Pablo Angel and the New York Red Bulls. Come join a sellout crowd of more than 50,000 as they watch a truly ugly memorable mismatch event at Giants Stadium. Get your tickets now!

Okay, so maybe that’s a bit harsh. Let’s be fair. Any time you get a chance to see Henry, Eto’o, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and the player I’m looking forward to seeing, Bojan Krkic, you take it. Barcelona should put on a good show on Wednesday. They can’t really afford to take it too lightly considering they have a Champions League qualifying match next week.

The roster Barcelona has in town is an impressive one:

Goalkeepers – Albert Jorquera, Jose Manuel Pinto, Victor Valdez
Defenders – Eric Abidal (FRA), Daniel Alves (BRA), Jose Martín Caceres (URU), Rafael Marquez (MEX), Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Sylvinho (BRA)
Midfielders – Sergio Busquets, Marc Crosas, Xavi Hernandez, Alexander Hleb (BLR), Andres Iniesta, Seydou Keita (MLI), Victor Sanchez, Victor Vazquez, Toure Yaya (CIV)
Forwards – Eidur Gudjohnsen (ISL), Thierry Henry (FRA), Bojan Krkic, Samuel Eto’o (CAM), Pedro, Jeffren Suarez.

All that said, there is certainly less buzz around this Barcelona trip than the last trip two years ago. Is it the absence of Ronaldinho, who’s popularity was at an all-time high back in the summer of 2005? Is it the less than stellar results of Barcelona in the past two years? Did Thierry Henry’s visit to play in Steve Nash’s charity game take some of the buzz away?

What do you think of this Barcelona visit? Are you excited? Do you have your tickets already? Are you skipping it? Are you waiting for Manchester United to come back?

Share your thoughts on Barcelona’s visit to New York in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. “This is going to be hilarious. If Barca beat Chivas by 3 goals, imagine what they can do to the Metrotards. I will be watching intently and laughing my ass off. ”

    In reference to the comment above…ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I’m pretty sure RBNY beat Chivas 2-1 a few months ago, guy.

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  2. Dude, kpugs, calm down and take your medication, man. LOL I’m just pointing out that it doesn’t look good for MLS to have these kind of mismatches. I’m a fan of MLS and I sincerely hope it continues to succeed and raise its legitimacy and profile internationally. BECAUSE I’m a fan of MLS it’s disheartening to see a match-up of a weak, decimated MLS team near the bottom of the barrel both on the table and talent-wise take on a world-class side, even one still in preseason and without their full lineup. Seriously, beyond JPA, maybe Jon Conway and Dave Van den Bergh on a good day who is left on RBNY who is a high-quality talent who could compete on a high-end international side? The back line is slow and loses cohesion easily. The midfielders often have trouble retaining possession under pressure and are hardly the most accurate passers. Unlike against many MLS teams these kind of weaknesses get exposed and exploited even if FCB doesn’t bring the same energy level as RBNY.

    I sincerely hope RBNY plays out of its mind and overachieves and FCB comes in as flat as a pancake and sleepwalks through the whole match. I hope Giants stadium is rocking and that RBNY pulls off a miracle and the game is at least compelling and competitive. Nothing would make me happier. However, I don’t see that happening and it’s sad to me that a match like this will be seen on a major cable network by many of the very folks that have laughed at and crapped on MLS for years. Commissioner Garber has talked about the need to continue to bring the soccer fan who’s passionate about soccer but not into the MLS into the fold. This match, like the match the MLS all-stars played back in 2005 against Real Madrid, could be another rout where the MLS team is simply outclassed. It could be another match that announces the MLS is still “not ready for prime-time” when the big boys come to town.

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  3. It’ll be a good match. Barca will use it as a tune-up. Maybe RB will use it as a tune-up to try and save their dying season (what else is new). I just watched a promo on YouTube of the Metros first season in MLS and how amazing the crowds looked. The standard of play wasn’t as good but it’s sad that it takes the LA Galaxy and a international friendly to pull in fans. I think Red Bull knows how to market, they just don’t want to spend the $$$’s until they are in their own home to do it.

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  4. This is going to be hilarious. If Barca beat Chivas by 3 goals, imagine what they can do to the Metrotards. I will be watching intently and laughing my ass off.

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  5. Well, I watched Barcelona absolutely dismantle Chivas the other night. It was 5-2, and could EASILY have been 7-2. They’re one of the most technically sound teams I’ve watched play in a long time, and I’ve watched A LOT of soccer through the years. While absolutely amazing to watch as a simple fan of the game, it also made me realize just how far away American soccer really is. We simply are not capable of playing that kind of soccer, either at the MLS or MNT level. Good luck RBNY, because you’re going to need it.

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  6. I’m not very excited about this game. I was a couple of years ago but not now (even though I’m going). And please, no more calling Henry by that awful nickname he’s somehow acquired. It sounds so..so..so..

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  7. I bet 2/3rds of the gobsh!tes on here are supporters of other teams who are jealous that Barca won’t come to their backwater town and play their local team, so they take out their envy on NY.

    It’ll be a fun time, and a good experience for RBNY players. And Metro/RBNY teams have played pretty damn well in friendlies, overachieving and keeping the crowd entertained. I remember when they beat Bayern after they won the Champions League. Does it mean much? No. But is it a fun time? Yes.

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  8. I am with you kpugs and sublicon.. I am getting tired of the hate…. really tired! Wish there were more of you guys out there.

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  9. I’m not terribly excited for this game, but I’m going as it’s always fun to see some of the world’s top players.

    I think the first half will be close, as more often than not MLS teams will play inspired soccer against these big clubs. However, Barca is Barca, and in the 2nd half it’s going to be ugly when guys like Gilkerson, Boyens, Borman and Sassano are playing against Gudjonsen and the rest of Barca’s bench players, most of whom are better than the majority of our starters. Some day I hope our salary cap is high enough that we can afford some real depth but I’ll leave that to the league and the union to hammer out in future CBAs…

    Is Chicero(I think I murdered the spelling there) eligible to play? Look forward to seeing how he performs against top notch competition.

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  10. Some of you just don’t know how lucky you truly are. I am stuck in the soccer netherregions (Atlanta). Count your blessings, and enjoy some of the best players in the world on display.

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  11. Maybe the reason there’s no buzz is that there has been no attempt by MLS or the red bulls to generate buzz in this game, or, for that matter, in any red bulls games this year.

    Marketing failures aside, I’m pretty psyched. Watching xavi and iniesta artfully dominate the midfield is a thing to behold.

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  12. I don’t think your promo was harsh at all. It’s truthful!

    There’s less buzz because RBNY does not know how to market the team. If this was flugtag, ads would be all over the place!!

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  13. after going to meaningful champions league and serie a games in europe, watching a warmup game against a last place mls team isn’t really worth the 50 bucks. sorry.

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  14. As a longtime Gooner I look forward to any chance to so Titi play one more time. 2006/2007 he was out for the remainder of the year by the time I got over so I’m looking forward to at least the first half of Wednesday’s match. As a RBNY season ticketholder I at least feel they’re bringing us some overdue entertainment that has been missing on the pitch this season.

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  15. All jokes aside, some of you who are making serious comments here must have just landed on planet Earth yesterday.

    Sure it should be a blowout. But last year they managed to win only 4-1 WITH little Ronnie in good form, and it was indeed a sell out. It was fun, despite watching my team get trounced. Some of you need to stop taking your bitter angst pills, that or travel back in time and move to late-80’s Seattle.

    This means you, John Leonard, you ignoring the overwhelmingly positive record of MLS teams against big European clubs, and you of always having some excuse or other for every single one of those upset defeats. I think you should move to Europe, where American soccer pessimists belong. And yes, when you say a team is going to get trounced and have excuses for all positive results, that is pessimism.

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  16. “there is certainly less buzz around this Barcelona trip than the last trip two years ago…”

    Except for here, where would anyone expect to find any buzz about this event?

    The traditional sports media have 2 pennant races and the commie olympics to cover, RBNY barely markets their team, and most of the dorks on Metrofanatic think they’re above a friendly with Barca …

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  17. It is too bad Barca is not coming out west, preferably in SLC, but Colorado would be acceptable. Even though Messi won’t be there, I think Ives hit it on the head…Bojan is the one to watch in the squad.

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  18. There’s no buzz because it will most likely be a bad, indifferent soccer (mis)match. RBNY will have a difficult time holding FCB to less than 5 goals and FCB will probably spend most of the match playing keep-away and tuning up their passing combinations. It’s sad for the league when fans of international soccer who rarely watch the MLS yet still look down on the league get treated to this dreck. I’m afraid it will reinforce every snickering stereotype about the MLS being a pub league and set back the real, honest buzz about the real progress the MLS has made with regards to its quality of play overall in the past few years.

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  19. this time last year i was a lot better off financially. Im forced to cut corners this year. This meaningless game is a corner I am going to have to cut

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  20. for me , the buzzkill winds down to a few factors:

    – third (arguable) big time game at giants stadium this summer after argentina and beckham

    – already saw henry in person for the first time at the nash charity game this summer

    – unlike 06, the biggest name on barca’s roster isnt playing

    – early start time at a horrible public transportation venue (add in the fact that espn is covering – more incentive to stay home)

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  21. Benjamin, Very droll or very young? very funny. Wish him well but Huckerby is the dumbest(soccerwise)player ever to play in the Premiership. With Coventry he was offsides every other play, foolish with ball etc

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  22. I think the lesser buzz has more to do with Reyna retiring. OK, I jest. As much as I love my RB, I bet the lack of buzz has more to do with that fact this is pretty much a training session for FCB. I hope we keep them under 5 goals. OK, I pray. BTW, Ies, the site keeps getting better and better, thanks.

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  23. I’m super excited for Barcelona’s visit; they’re one of 8-12 clubs in the world that you almost always have to be excited to see play.

    I wish Messi was coming but I’d never miss a chance to see Henry, Eto’o, Xavi and Iniesta play and they’re accompanied by Puyol, Abidal, Alves along with solid veterans Hleb and Gudjohnsen. Then throw in talented young players Krkic, Keita, Pedo, Crosas and Toure Yaya… this is a good group of players to see play the NY Red Bulls!!!

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  24. Barcelona should not play Henry on wide left. Although he may have started his career on the wing, he is not a cultured striker.

    Barcelona missed a good oportunity when Darren Huckerby left Norwich. He would have provided Barcelona much needed balance for their team, providing many assists for their strikers…

    Whats Barcelona’s loss is Earhquales’ gain.

    I hope New York thump ’em!

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  25. Here’s some buzz: Xavi, Puyol, and Iniesta were instrumental in Spain’s Euro win and Barca’s Champion’s League win a few years back. Henry is an all-time great France striker with designs on the MLS. Eto’o is a two-time African Player of the Year. Brazilian international Dani Alves is the most electrifying right back in the world. Bojan is one of the best U-23 players in the world. Marquez is one of the most successful Mexican players ever to play in Europe. And the rest of ’em aren’t half bad either. If you like soccer, live in the New York area, and are not going to this game, you should have a very, very good reason. You will be entertained.

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  26. I was at Soldier Field last night and Barca completely destroyed Guadalajara Chivas. It was not as close as the score (5-2) would indicate. Be afraid, NYRB, be very afraid. That being said, it was a real pleasure watching Barca. Bojan is the real deal, too.

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  27. Off topic, but when are you going to start the SBI Fantasy League for the Premiership this season? First round is less than 2 weeks away!!!

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  28. Barca is also holding an impromptu training in the north meadows of Central park tonight at 6 for all the New Yorkers on this board. Don’t you have to be excited for Barca regardless of the fact that Ronaldihno and Messi arent here? Its good football people!

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