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Football
07.06.2009 11:25
Whole squad involved in treble
Edgar Fornós
One of the keys to FC Barcelona’s successful season has been the use of the full depth of the squad. No fewer than 18 players played a regular part in starting line ups in the League, Cup and Champions League.
Guardiola has been saying all season that the whole squad is needed to win titles. And so it has been, with statistics showing how widely spread the participation has been in all three competitions.
Alves, Piqué, Touré and Iniesta, the most used
Dani Alves, Piqué, Touré and Andrés Iniesta are the players that have appeared the most in all three competitions. Alves and Piqué were two of the four most regularly used defenders in both the Cup and Champions League, Touré doing likewise as a defensive midfielder, and Iniesta playing on the left of midfield on a regular basis in the League and Champions League, while switching to the right for cup ties.
Abidal for Sylvinho, only change between League and Champions League
The most common starting eleven in the League and Champions League was more or less identical, with the only major change being Abidal playing the most games at left back in the League for Barça (2.231’), while his place was usually taken for Champions League matches by Sylvinho, who played 406 minutes more than the Frenchman.
Sylvinho, Champions League left back
Curiously, Brazilian Sylvinho played more minutes that the
player he was supposedly a deputy for, Éric Abidal. Sylvinho made good use of his opportunities to
show his worth to Josep Guardiola, and the injury Abidal suffered against Espanyol opened the doors
to the South American, whose run in to the end of the season was particularly impressive.
Six different players but the same result: champions
The typical starting eleven in the Copa de Rey involved six major changes with respect to the League and Champions League sides. The incoming players were goalkeeper Pinto, defender Martín Cáceres, midfielders Busquets and Keita and strikers Hleb and Bojan.
Youth players getting involved
More than half of the most regularly used players were home-grown
talents. The League and Champions League made regular use of Valdés, Puyol, Piqué, Xavi, Iniesta
and Messi. Also, eight youth team products also enjoyed some kind of involvement, namely goalkeeper
Oier, defenders Botía, Abraham, Víctor Sánchez and Marc Muniesa, midfielders Busquets and Thiago
and Venezuelan striker Jeffren Suárez.
Márquez and Gudjohnsen too
Defender Rafa Márquez, despite missing out on much of the end of the season after getting injured against Chelsea, still managed to clock up 2,070 minutes in the League, 771 in the Champions League and 212 in the Cup. Meanwhile, Icelander Eidur Gudjohnsen also saw plenty of action in all three competitions: 1,207 in the League, 128 in the Champions League and 376 in the Cup.
BARÇA BITE
The most common Barça starting line ups in all three competitions on the basis of minutes played
were:
League: Valdés (3,003’), Alves (3068’), Puyol (2,492’), Piqué (2312’), Abidal (2,231’), Touré (1,987), Xavi (3106’), Iniesta (1,995’), Messi (2,634’), Eto’o (3,057’) and Henry (2,213’).
Champions League: Valdés (1142’), Alves (951’), Puyol (796’), Piqué (1,144’), Sylvinho (659’), Touré (850’), Xavi (1027’), Iniesta (816’), Messi (985’), Eto’o (811’) and Henry (1,022’).
Copa del Rey: Pinto (845’), Alves (742’), Cáceres (553’), Piqué (562’), Sylvinho (659’), Touré (559’), Busquets (782’), Keita (470’), Hleb (593’), Bojan (753’) and Iniesta (453’).
League: Valdés (3,003’), Alves (3068’), Puyol (2,492’), Piqué (2312’), Abidal (2,231’), Touré (1,987), Xavi (3106’), Iniesta (1,995’), Messi (2,634’), Eto’o (3,057’) and Henry (2,213’).
Champions League: Valdés (1142’), Alves (951’), Puyol (796’), Piqué (1,144’), Sylvinho (659’), Touré (850’), Xavi (1027’), Iniesta (816’), Messi (985’), Eto’o (811’) and Henry (1,022’).
Copa del Rey: Pinto (845’), Alves (742’), Cáceres (553’), Piqué (562’), Sylvinho (659’), Touré (559’), Busquets (782’), Keita (470’), Hleb (593’), Bojan (753’) and Iniesta (453’).
