lits, like a ballerina. Michael Conforto said sometimes he watches Colon run down line drives in the outfield, and he looks -- in short bursts -- like a thick

BARCELONA, Spain -- Pep Guardiola, the managerial mastermind who led Barcelona to 14 of 19 possible titles in four seasons, is returning to Camp Nou.This time he will be at the helm of Manchester City as he faces his boyhood club in the Champions League on Wednesday.But how does the best of the teams Guardiola coached from 2008-2012 stack up against the current Barcelona side?Here is a comparison of Barcelonas current players with those led by Guardiola in 2008-09, the team that started the clubs winning era by becoming the first Spanish club to win the Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey in the same season.Barcelona repeated that rare feat of winning the treble of titles two seasons ago under present coach Luis Enrique.---FORWARDSMessi/Etoo/Henry (2008-09) vs. Messi/Suarez/Neymar (now)A budding star at 21 years old, Lionel Messi fully blossomed under Guardiola.The Argentina star won his first of a record five Ballon dOr awards in 2009, after having scored important goals such as his double in a historic 6-2 win at Real Madrid and the second goal in a 2-0 win to beat Manchester United in the Champions League final.Guardiola got one more superb season from striker Samuel Etoo, and squeezed out some of the last vintage goals that Thierry Henry had to offer.Hard to top that, right?Just look at Messis present partners in attack.With Messi moving away from a pure scorer to becoming both scorer and playmaker, Luis Suarez and Neymar have proven to be perfect fits up front. Suarez is the voracious goal-taker that Messi needed to focus on orchestrating, while Neymars dribbling skills and speed are almost unstoppable. The trio broke scoring records in each of the last two seasons.ADVANTAGE: Luis Enriques current attack.---MIDFIELDXavi/Toure/Iniesta (2008-09) vs. Rakitic/Busquets/Iniesta (now)Both teams enjoy the devilry of Andres Iniesta, but the 2008-09 side had both Yaya Toure and an upstart Sergio Busquets sharing time in front of the defense, as opposed to the current teams reliance on Busquets as a holding midfielder.The major difference, however, is the downgrade from Xavi Hernandez to Ivan Rakitic.Rakitic is more athletic and a better tackler than Xavi, but that cannot trump Xavis vision, poise and control of the match. The World Cup winner was Guardiolas on-pitch general of a possession-based passing attack that bewildered opponents.In other words, its a no-brainer.ADVANTAGE: Guardiolas 2008-09 midfield.---DEFENSEDani Alves/Puyol/Pique/Abidal (2008-09) vs. Roberto/Pique/Mascherano/Alba (now)Always at the service of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, Barcelonas defense under Guardiola was easy to overlook.But that 2008-09 team enjoyed Dani Alves and Eric Adibal in their prime, a fully fit Carles Puyol before he was diminished by injuries, and a Gerard Pique hungry to come into his own.Pique now anchors a back line that is under transition.Jordi Alba offers blistering pace on the left flank, but its other two positions are in flux.Sergi Roberto, a converted midfielder, has impressed as Dani Alves replacement so far, while the other central defender position is in dispute between an aging Javier Mascherano and newcomer Samuel Umtiti.ADVANTAGE: Guardiolas 2008-09 defense.---GOALKEEPER: Valdes (2008-09) vs. Ter Stegen (now)Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has just inherited the full-time goalkeeping responsibilities from Claudio Bravo. Despite his passing skills and ability to make spectacular saves, the German needs to improve his decision making to reach the level of Victor Valdes from 2008-09.ADVANTAGE: Guardiolas 2008-09 goalkeeper.---CONCLUSION:Even though this Barcelona side should be favored over City, it has a way to go to equal the overall excellence of Guardiolas first Barcelona squad. Authentic Dante Pettis Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. 49ers Jerseys Authentic China . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.cheap49ersjerseysauthentic.com/ . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. Cheap 49ers Jerseys . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Authentic Mike McGlinchey Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Trainer Bruce Hill has always had a huge opinion of Man Of His Word but he has not always lived up to those beliefs.But on Saturday, Man Of His Word convinced his trainer and punters he had finally learned what racing was about after coming from last to win the Listed Brisbane Handicap (1600m) at Doomben.The usually subdued Hill was visibly delighted by Man Of His Word ($4.80) charging through the pack to beat Cylinder Beach ($2.80) by 1 3/4 lengths.Man of His Word had to come from last today but I have been saying there are few horses who can sprint like him at the end of his races, Hill sad.Maybe the penny has finally dropped. As I have said several times he isnt the sharpest tool in the shed but on potential he is a topliner.Man Of His Word will now back up in the Bernborough Stakes at Eagle Farm on Deceember 31.ddddddddddddLets hope the pace is on again in that race, Hill said.Hill is also looking to the Brisbane winter with Man Of His Word who could be a Group One Stradbroke Handicap contender with improvement.Winning jockey Jeff Lloyd agreed Man Of His Word was a work in progress.But he can finish very quickly. He can win a better race, he said.Trainer Desleigh Forster was far from disappointed with the run of Cylinder Beach.He was a bit slow to go and we didnt want to get that far back. But he ran on well, Forster said.Likewise Luke Tarrant felt Top Tone, who ran third, had done a good job at his first stakes start.We had a nice run and he fought on very well, Tarrant said. ' ' '