DieBruderschaft.com

Guillem Balague believes lingering muscle problems could partly explain Lionel Messis dip in form for Barcelona. The Argentina international failed to score for the fifth consecutive game as his side crashed out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.And Balague, who says Messis recent tendency to drop into midfield is limiting his effectiveness, thinks the Barca star is in pain. Lionel Messi was largely on the periphery as Barcelona were knocked out by Atletico Madrid When asked to explain Messis form on Sky Sports News HQ, Balague said: He has not scored in five games, and Barcelona depend on a very good Messi.Theres two ways to explain this. First, you look at him and hes dropping deeper, hes walking instead of running - although he normally does that - and he doesnt look as sharp. Whats up with Barca? Barcelona out: Reliance on Messi, Neymar and Suarez proves costly When he doesnt feel sharp he doesnt get in the box. As a midfielder, hes good but hes not that great.But you can also explain it in a different way. Minutes after the Atletico Madrid game finished a story came out that he has been struggling with muscle problems. Not an injury as such, but about three weeks ago he went to Venice to see a nutritionist and he was asking him, Why is it I dont feel well at the moment?It could be the training and hes in pain certainly, and all those things have made him perform at a lesser level.Some will say its just excuses, but look back at his last five games and you can see it hasnt been the same Messi. Ive checked with the family and the muscle issues are one of the problems that is worrying him. Antoine Griezmann scored once in each half to send Atletico Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals Barca have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, but sit three points clear of Atletico in La Liga and remain on course for a league and cup double.And Balague believes La Liga and Copa Del Rey titles will still represent a strong season, even if they failed in their pursuit of back-to-back trebles. This is what were used to seeing from Lionel Messi. They can still win the league and the cup, but nobody is talking about that because it has been a surprising demise in the last month, he added.Winning after winning is so difficult and to keep at that level for so long is almost impossible.Imagine if they do win the league, it means they will have had a good season, but if they also beat Sevilla in the cup, its a very good season. But at this point the Champions League blurs everything else and it looks like something is missing. Luis Enrique took full responsibility for Barcelonas Champions League defeat The main culprit according to the media in Catalonia is Luis Enrique, who hasnt done some of the things that made Barcelona good last season.Enrique has to be the coach and say Neymar you havent scored since mid-March and Messi perhaps you should rest too.But now there are seven games left and its difficult to tell them that because everyone wants to play as soon as possible and bounce back from what has been a hurtful defeat. Win a t-lab Peloton t-shirt We have teamed up with original British mens t-shirt label t-lab in our new giveaway Also See: Whats up with Barca? Griezmann knocks Barca out How Spain reacted to Barca loss Enrique: Im to blame for exit Marcus Allen Super Bowl Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Travis Kelce Super Bowl Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-damien-wilson-chiefs-jersey/ .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Dustin Colquitt Super Bowl Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Kendall Fuller Super Bowl Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. MISSISSAUGA, Ontario -- Imagine running a 1,500-meter race up and down hills, while leaping over barriers and carrying a sack of potatoes.Thats how Elvis Stojko describes the long program in mens figure skating.Patrick Chan won his seventh Skate Canada International title on Saturday, but it was with a flawed free skate that petered out over the final minutes. That performance had the 25-year-old from Toronto describing himself as the least-bad skater on the night.So Stojko pulled Chan aside to offer advice that could help put him in medal contention at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.Patrick, he relied on the artistry for so long until everyone caught on, but in the meantime everyone was working on the quads, Stojko said. Now, hes got one season to get this. Hes got to do it now. And I told him, `Youre going to make the mistakes. You might have to give up competition wins for it.The mistakes were many on Saturday. To keep pace with his competition, Chan debuted an ambitious program that included three quads. He started off beautifully, landing a huge quad and triple axel, but fell on his second quad attempt, and turned the third into a triple. He downgraded several jumps over the final, lung-busting minutes.On a night that saw all but Canadian Kevin Reynolds struggle, Chans was one of three gold medals for the host nation. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the ice dance title in their first major competition since the Sochi Olympics. Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won the pairs title. Reynolds landed three quads in his bronze-medal performance.Stojko was famous for doing double run-throughs in practice, and suggested Chan try it. The 44-year-old would do a run-through of his 4 1-2 minute free skate, take a one-minute break, then do it again -- a taxing workout he could only do every few weeks.We call it the wall, and youve got to push it, youve got to push that limit all the time that youre always up against it, and it always feels like youre working out in molasses, Stojko said. After youve done training like that, the wall moves. And its hard.As Stojko explained in a lengthy interview Sunday, competition is much tougher on the body than practice. Nerves andd anticipation push the heart rate up.ddddddddddddWhat happens to any of us when we have anxiety? Youre exhausted and you havent even done anything. Times that by 10 in this environment, said Stojko, who credits his background in martial arts for his approach to sports.The stress level youre under drains the tank that much faster. So when youre competing at that high level, and trying all the quads and everything, your tank needs to be larger than at a normal practice.Chan, whos also a three-time world champion, planned to discuss the double run-through idea with coach Marina Zoueva. They also plan to explore meditation and breathing exercises.Stojko has been outspoken about the direction of mens skating, writing a scathing column for Yahoo at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics under the headline The night they killed figure skating. He was angry that American Evan Lysacek won gold with no quad.Hes thrilled the sport is embracing the big jumps again.I think its awesome, said Stojko, who is Skate Canadas ambassador. People say the sports going too gymnastics. But if you take out the jumps and you limit the guys, then it just becomes a recital. Youve got the art form, but you need that athletic side to blend them together. To have a clear-cut winner, youve got to have that technical side.Critics argue the focus on the quads is hard on the skaters bodies.Look at hockey. Look at football. Look at all these other sports where they push the body, Stojko said. People come to watch that excitement. If you take all the quads out, youre going to see a lot of perfect performances, but its going to end up being boring again.The 25-year-old Chan is embracing the big jumps -- if only by necessity.Were going to keep pushing the boundary, he said. But somethings got to give, either youll have skaters who wont last very long due to injury, or the component/presentation side starts getting affected.But its cool to see these guys pushing the boundaries; Im in awe. Its going to be interesting to sit back and see where it does top out, where it does suffer. ' ' '