If Vertonghen will continue to play like he has done last season and if Barca will lose matches because of lack of length and strength in the centre of defense, especially exposed with freekicks/cornerkicks and other high balls coming in, we will think with regret about a missed opportunity. But hopefully Barca can find another player, Abidal returns or one of the younger players proving to be a good addition to strengthen Barca's defense.

I still can't believe that they let Tottenham pick up Vertonghen from Ajax Amsterdam for less then 12 million Euro. Vertonghen would have been a great addition to the Barca defense.

They could have had Jan Vertonghen for around 12 million

Let's hope so, I understand why they like to sign Martinez, but if I hear how much they need to pay for him and for how much they could get Vertonghen, I wonder if he is that much better. Vertonghen has gone through the Ajax school, is tall, strong and is used to play offensive football. He is pretty good on the ball, is a good header and picks his goals. You can compare him a bit with Pique. Look, my favorite defender is Abidal, aggressive, strong, fast, very good on the ball and great in one to one. But I don't think that at Barca they are fully confident he will return at the same level like he was.Puyol is still a great defender, but he is getting older and has been struggling with his fitness. So my question is not that strange, or are we no longer allowed to ask critical questions. and should we stop thinking for ourselves?

So Thiago Silva and Martinez are not coming.
I hear that Martinez was going to be around 30/40 million and now he even doesn't want to come and they could have gotten Vertonghen for around 12 million and now he signed a contract with Tottenham. Are they sleeping at Barca? Vertonghen would have been a great addition to the defense. Barca needs at least another tall, strong guy!

Barca players had a good chance to quieten Mourinho in the home match for the Copa when it was 2 - 0 after 45 minutes. But then they lost concentration or started to be arrogant. Whatever it was, they gave Madrid the chance to fight themselves back in that match and at the end they were a bit lucky to escape that night and gave Mourinho a stick to hit with and boost up the morale of his players.
If Barca would have just finished them off that match, I am sure the next day Mourinho would have been forced to pack his bags. That would have been the ultimate humiliation to him.
Look some kind of verbal abuse is part of a football match, but sometimes it goes a bit too far, even in the case of Mourinho and also Ronaldo. But I already stated that Mourinho also attracts it with his behaviour, but still...................
He is also a coach who makes his teams better, and we have to admit that Madrid only got stronger since he became the headcoach. He manages to turn his teams into fighting machines. I also don't like his style, but the sportsrivalry between Madrid and Barcelona makes them both stronger in the end.and is good for the quality of the game. But the atmosphere gets sometimes a bit too overheated and becomes too hostile. I do not enjoy watching that, especially when Barca doesn't win :)

Ridiculous that Mourinho can get away with poking his fingers in the eyes of Vilanova along the sidelines. If he would have done it outside, he would have been convicted for a violent assault. Mourinho uses his provocative behaviour to create animosity towards opponents and as a way to create unity between his own players and supporters. He makes them believe that it is them against the rest of the world and uses this idea to motivate his players.
But I also must say that I do not agree with the way he is treated by many football fans. the swearing to him and Ronaldo, almost every away match. (Di...... Por..............) is seen as normal while if we talk about racist abuse it immediate becomes an issue of which most normal thinking people agree that it is not acceptable in this day and age. To me to swear Di..................... Port................. for 90 minutes with thousands and thousands of people is also a sort of racism. Plus with all the abuse he has attracted throughout his career, i would imagine it is not that easy to keep your sanity.
One of the positive effects of his provocations is that he keeps the Barca players sharp. Players like Xavi and Messi are not intimidated with his big talk,. Also Abidal showed he was mr. Cool and played his best football if the atmosphere got a little heated.
I think Barca needs one or two more tall, physically strong players. If Pique or Busquests gets an injury you will really struggle against Madrid, especially if the game is not going your way and you struggle to keep possession and although miracles are not impossible, it is unlikely that Abidal will return at the same level he used to play for Barca.

Ridiculous that Mourinho can get away with poking his fingers in the eyes of someone along the sidelines. If he would have done it outside, he would have been convicted for a violent assault. Mourinho uses his provocative behaviour to create animosity towards opponents and as a way to create unity between his own players and supporters. He makes them belief that it is them against the rest of the world and uses this idea to motivate his players.
But I also must say that I do not agree with the way he is treated by many football fans. the swearing to him and Ronaldo, almost every away match. (Di...... Por..............) is seen as normal while if we talk about racist abuse it immediate becomes an issue of which most normal thinking people agree that it is not acceptable in this day and age. To me to swear Di..................... Port................. for 90 minutes with thousands and thousands of people is also a sort of racism.

Keita has been a great player for Barca. In most other teams he would have been certain of being one of the starting eleven and one of the important players in the team. At Barca he often started as a substitute, but he was still an important player in the squad, always 100% there when he came on the pitch and he never complained about being left out of the starting eleven, despite his qualities. Hard worker, physically strong, good defending and coming forward, good header. He made some great goals for Barca. Really great guy to have been part of the Barca squad! I can imagine that he thinks it is his time to go now. He has won everything with Barca and he can go everywhere he likes and gets paid much more then he will get at Barca. But hats of to Keita!

Iniesta and Raul Albiol donated their prize money to charities!