In recent weeks I've received a lot of questions from people wanting to know more about the transition at Barcelona between Pep Guardiola's side and the team under Tito Vilanova.
THINGS LUK-ING UP FOR LUKA?Hi Guillem, Love the weekly column. Just wanted to know your thoughts on Luka Modric? In last week's column, you briefly mentioned Mourino was 'disappointed' with Luka - can you share more on that? He seems a bit part player at present and I'm scratching my head as to how Mourino regards Luka in the long term? Dean Clark (Tottenham fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: Mourinho's been playing a game with Modric, using a stick and a carrot. First he gave him the stick, publicly saying he needs to learn so much and he needs to learn it quickly. Not everybody can get to the standards set by this Real Madrid side, standards of very high work rate with and without ball, and Modric has to learn, especially without the ball. But then he gave him a carrot, saying Modric is going to give great afternoons of football to Real Madrid. He's only a kid - and Mourinho used the word 'kid' - so be patient with him, is Mourinho's message. He does see a future in Modric in the long term.
BIG IN SPAINHi Guillem, In England people are always singing the praises of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which is quite understandable, but who do the fans and pundits in Spain think is the greatest player in the world currently playing outside of La Liga? Stephen Davids (Charlton fan)
GUILLEM SAYS:Outside of La Liga the talk is of Neymar - and I announced exclusively on Revista that Barcelona have already paid some part of the transfer fee to get him after the World Cup. There is also talk about Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernanes of Lazio, who, I think, is a fantastic player. But Wayne Rooney is considered one of the top players in the world as well. If you look at him close up he hasn't stepped up his level with the national team but he's considered in Spain as one of the top ten players in the world. David Silva will be on that list as well.
ESPANYOL ON THE SLIDE?Hi Guillem, Why have your beloved Espanyol had such a difficult start to the season? Many thanks, Graham Beard (Man United fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: We've had a very difficult start to the season but that's a consequence of a lack of direction at the top of the club. Mauricio Pochettino and Director of Football Ramon Planes have a clear idea of where they want to take the club but there's a lack of direction at the very top, which means there is no focus. This should be a club bringing youngsters through but the politics at the club means the academy is in disarray and all in all every year, because of huge debt, we've been selling players so there's less quality in the squad. If we'd kept the players we have been selling we'd have a great team by now. That's the problem.
LOCAL LADS LIMITED?Hola Guillem, We saw Athletic Bilbao pass Manchester United off the park last season with the likes of Iker Muniain unplayable. Despite this, sometimes, their La Liga form leaves something to be desired. What do you see in the club's future? Andrew Isaacs (Colchester fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: Bilbao have got a team made of local guys and if you have a generation of good quality players then they could do well in cup competitions, as they did last season, but generally they don't do so great in the league, compared to other sides with many more riches. Marcelo Bielsa took their level to a new dimension with his methods and his demands but I think he's got an out of date mentality in the way he works because he demands so much from his players that unless they maintain that competitiveness and mentality that level drops. It's a romantic story in terms of getting local boys into the club but at the same time that is their downfall because players don't come from big clubs and don't push themselves to their limit because they know if they are good enough they'll play and if they do well they can stay at Bilbao forever. That extra hunger is missing, even though Bielsa is trying to link the hunger of the Basque Country to the hunger of the players. It has worked for a season but it has got a limit.
