Wazzup with FC BARCELONA?!! (News)

[Classik]

Sandro Rosell to attend Laureus Gala


www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-26-2012 14:24

Club President Sandro Roseell will attend the gala at which the first team, Leo Messi and Éric Abidal are up for awards in three different categories

Vilarrubí, Sanan, Rosell and Masfurroll, in the Camp Nou. PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB.


Visit to Downing Street

Whilst he is London for the Laureus Awards, President Sandro Rosell, accompanied by vice-president Carles Vilarrubí will also pay a callon the UK Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street.

The President will attend the Gala dinner for the presentation of the Laureus Awards to be held inLondon on February 6th. The first team, Leo Messi and Éric Abidal have all been nominated for prizes in three different categories.


Sandro Rosell confirmed his presence at the event to the Guy Sanan, the Director General of the Laureus, when he attended Wednesday's game at the Camp Nou, accompanied by Gabriel Masfurroll, the president of Laureus Espanya.


The Club's institutional vice-president Carles Vilarrubí stressed that the Laureus World Sports Awards are highly prestigious sporting awards:"the fact that we have been nominated is excellent news. The jury doesn't just reward sporting prowess, it also looks at the values that are being transmitted". Guy Sanan called it"incredible" that the Club is represented in three different categories: "I don't think this has ever happened before. What's more they have always been up there in the best team category over the last few years".


Three separate nominations

It's actually the fourth time that the team have been nominated and this year they will be up against the Rugby World Cup winners, the New Zealand All Blacks, the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, the Japanese Women's Football team, the Red Bull Formula 1 team and the World Test number 1 Cricket team –England.

Leo Messi is also up for an award on his own as the best male sportsperson - the third time he has been nominated for the award. If he wins, he'll be the first Barça player to be so garlanded and he is competing with Usain Bolt, Sebastian Vettel, Novak Djokovic, basketball start Dirk Nowitzki and Tour de France winner Cadel Evans.

Finally, Éric Abidal has been nominated for the award for the best comeback of the year after appearing in the Champions League final following surgery to remove a tumour from his liver. The Frenchman will be up against golfers Sergio García and Darren Clarke, the rugby teamsThe Crusaders and Queensland Reds and the athlete Liu Xiang.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Cesc: “The Cup win will strengthen usâ€


01-26-2012 14:44

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Cesc insisted: “we did our homework – we won the Cup quarter final against rivals who are always difficultâ€


Fabregas reflected on his own form and admitted: “there are still things I can improveâ€

PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB


“I feel bad for Iniestaâ€

Cesc Fàbregas commented on his Barça and Spain teammate Andrés Iniesta, who was injured against Madrid: "I feel bad for him. He knows we will be waiting for him Together withLeo he is the most incisive player in the game".


"We did our homework and we won the Cup quarter final against rivals who are always difficult"

According to the Catalan midfielder: "we are where we wanted to be – in the Cup semi-final, sitting second and trying to catch Madrid in the league and waiting for the Champions to start again" . Cesc Fàbregas also reflected on the two quarter final games - full of incident and in the balance right till the end – claiming: "I'm proud of the team over the whole 180 minutes".

Having seen off Real Madrid in the Cup, Cesc believes the team will: "come away strengthened from the games. It's always complicated to beat Madrid. They looked very strong to me, but that didn't surprise us – we knew they are an awesome rival when they playat their best. We did our homework and we won the Cup quarter final against rivals who are always difficult".


Demanding

Cesc also admitted: "I'm not happy with my own performance" on Wednesday night, "I have to improve a lot", before explaining that although he was brought up to play football the Barça way: "this is the boss' system and it's not easy to get it straight away. When I play further forward, I have more mobility and that's a role I can handle - further back I need to have more discipline and I missing the patience for that".


No excuses

Barça will be without Iniesta and Alexis for the next few games and with Villa, Fontàs and Afellay already out, the squad is beginning to be stretched, but Cesc insisted: "there can be no excuses – we are FC Barcelona. We have to give our best and push on. There are players in the B team who are doing really well".

FCB,

Anna Segura

 

[Classik]

Iniesta out for three weeks


www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-26-2012 14:56

Tests carried out this Thursday confirmed that Andrés Iniesta suffered a left hamstring tear and will be out for approximately three weeks

Andrés Iniesta. FOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB.

The Spanish midfielder suffered the injury just before the half hour mark in Wednesday's Cup semi-final against Real Madrid and tests carried out this lunchtime at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper confirmed his three week layoff.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Cup semifinal schedule, confirmed


www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-26-2012 17:33

Barça will play against the winner of the Levante-Valencia match on Wednesday, February 1st. The return leg, at the Camp Nou, is scheduled for February 8th. Both matches will start at 21.

Xavi / PHOTO: ARXIU: FCB

The schedule for the King ’ s Cup semifinal matches have been set. FC Barcelona, whose opponent will come out of tonight’s Levante - Valencia match, will play the first leg away from the Camp Nou. The first match will be played on Wednesday, February 1 at 21.00. While the return match at the Camp Nou will take place a week later, Wednesday the 8th, also at 21.00.


The other semifinal between Mirandés and Athletic Club will be played on the 31st of January and the 7th of Februrary, both kickoff times are at 22.00.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Leo Messi, on the cover of Time magazine


WWW.FCBARCELONA.CAT 01-26-2012 18:30

The North American magazine Time has picked FC Barcelona’s Leo Messi to feature on the over of their February edition. The magazine will go on sale worldwide this Sunday, January 29

It’s the first time that a football player has graced the cover of the magazine, other athletesthat have appeared on the cover are Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Muhammad Ali, amongst others

The cover of Time's February edition

Messi keeps on making history on and off the pitch. The Argentinian’s latest conquest is the North American magazine Time . The publicationpicked the Barça striker to feature on their February cover. The edition will hit the stands worldwide this Sunday, January 29, and Leo Messi’s portrait will feature on the front along with the title: King Leo . According to Time, Lionel Messi is “the greatest player in the world†and perhaps the “best of all time.â€


This is the first time that a solitary football player has graced the cover of the magazine. Other athletes of note that have also appeared on the cover are Tiger Woods , Muhammad Ali , Bjön Borg and Michael Jordan , amongst others. Messi , with a trophy cabinet packed to the brim, continues collecting accolades.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Valencia, Barça's rival in the semifinals


www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-26-2012 23:46

The team managed by Unai Emery easily beat Levante (0-3) and will face Barça in the next round


The away game will be at Mestalla on February 1st, the return leg will be at the Camp Nou a week later. Both matches will start at 21.00

Valencia-Barça at Mestalla

Valencia - Barça and Mirandés - Athletic Club are the semifinal match-ups of the King’s Cup. Barça now knows who they will face next will when Los Che brushed Levante aside (0-3). Tonight’s result, coupled with the away leg’s 4-1, comfortably see Unai Emery’s side through to thenext round.

The away leg of the semifinal will be played in Mestalla on Wednesday, February 1st at 21.00, the return leg will be at the Camp Nou a week later.


Familiar opponents

Throughout the history of the competition, Valencia and Barça have played against each other 18 times , 7 of the ties went to Valencia and 11to Barça. However, the last time both the teams met in the Cup, Valencia saw Barça off in the semifinals of the Cup in the 2007/08 season.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Ticket applications for FC Barcelona – Valencia

www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-27-2012 09:08

Information about tickets for Cup Semi- Final games

Spanish Cup semifinals Barça - València

FC Barcelona face one final hurdle in their bid to reach the Spanish Cup Final, with Valencia as opponent.


First Leg

Tickets for the first leg in Valencia (Wednesday 1st of February at 9.00 pm) can be applied for viaemail at reserva.penyes@fcbarcelona.cat until next Sunday, January 29th .

Very important : To avoid confusion, please put the following into the Subject line:

SPANISH CUP SEMIFINAL TICKETS FIRST LEG - AWAY

Please include the following information:

● Name and number of the supporters club
● Contact telephone number
● Game
● Competition
● Number of tickets
● Credit card details
As usual, tickets will be distributed according to the coefficient agreed by the Consell Consultiu and assigned to each pf the 35 regions.


Second leg
Tickets for the second leg at Camp Nou (Wednesday 8th of February at 9 pm) can be applied for from 30 January until 4 February , also via email at reserva.penyes@fcbarcelona.cat, including the following information:
● Name and number of the supporters club
● Contact telephone number
● Game
● Competition
● Preferred zone
● Number of tickets
● Credit card details

Very important : To avoid confusion, please put the following into the Subject line:


SPANISH CUP SEMIFINAL TICKETS SECOND LEG - HOME
Once all applications have been made, the Club will then distribute tickets according to availability and the number of applications made.

A separate email is required for each application (single applications for both games will not be accepted)

FCB

 

[Classik]

FCB Escola starts operating in Indonesia


www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-27-2012 11:00

Two schools will open in Indonesia in 2012, where football is growing exponentially

FCBEscola a Indonesia


The FCB Escola project is continuing to expand around the world. On Tuesday in Jakarta the project was presented for two new FC Barcelona soccer schools in Indonesia. One will be a residential training centre for children aged between 12 and 18 on the outskirts of the capital. The other school will be for children aged between 5 and 12.

Indonesia is a growing power, with 220 million inhabitants, and football is also gaining ground in the country. FCB Escola has organised a range of activities around the country in the hope of reaching as many children as possible and integrating them in the new project that Xevi Marcé, director of FCB Escola, considers "very important and ambitious".

An expected 250 players are going to be at FCB Escola Indonesia each year, thanks to the support of the investment group Analytics Excellion, which like the other projects around the world that are endorsed by the FC Barcelona seal of quality, will promote the excellence of the Masia model that not only teaches children to play football, but also to be good people.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Barça declares support for Barcelona as venue for Mobile World Congress


www.fcbarcelona.cat

President Sandro Rosell has welcomed the delegate councillor for the GSMA, John Hoffman, to the presidential suite

The Club will shortly be presenting a development programme for the mobile sector, as announced today by the director responsible for new technologies, Dídac Lee

Sandro Rosell and John Hoffman / FOTO: GERMÃNPARGA - FCB

Dídac Lee: "a great opportunity for Barcelona and Catalonia and we want to do all we can to help"

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the support FC Barcelona wishes to show for mobile technology capital in the city of Barcelona were the topics of a meeting between president Sandro Rosell, the city's mayor Xavier Trias, the president of Fira, Agustí Cordón the delegate councillor for the GSMA, John Hoffman.

Rosell, shortly before the game between Barça and Real Madrid on Wednesday, presented Hoffman with a first team shirt and said he was enthusiastic about the club's support for the city's hosting of the MWC from February 27 to March 1, after the organisers of the congress, GSMA, ratified their decision to continue the event through to 2018.

FC Barcelona was one of the biggest players in the campaign to prevent the biggest mobile telephone fair in the world from being moved to another city, once again showing how influential the club can be in international markets. The club's effort to keep the MWC in Barcelona is just one of many examples of the club's wish to promote the image and economy of the city and Catalonia.

"A great opportunity for Barcelona and Catalonia"

At Wednesday's meeting, FC Barcelona was also represented by vice president Carles Vilarrubí and the director responsible for new technologies, Dídac Lee. It was Lee who stated that the Mobile World Congress is "a great opportunity for Barcelona and Catalonia and we want to do all we can to help".

Dídac Lee also announced that the club shall shortly be presenting a mobile technology programme as part of the city's candidature to host the MWC. This programme "will help foster the mobile technology sector, which has undergone so much growth in recent years", he said.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Piqué on verge of league century


The FC Barcelona midfielder is one game short of his 100th in the league in a Barça shirt

Piqué / FOTO: ARXIU FCB


[highlight]Pedro two away from 150

Pedro Rodríguez is getting closer to his 150th appearance for FC Barcelona. The Canary Islander has made it to 148 and he could make the milestone next Wednesday against Valencia in the cup semi final, as long as he also plays on Sunday against Vila-real. In these 148 games, Pedro has scored 52 goals, the latest last week against Real Madrid.[/highlight]

Gerard Piqué has become a key element of Barçaunder Guardiola. A product of the youth system, he rejoined the club in 2008 after moving to Manchester United in 2004/05. The Catalan has now played 99 league games for Barça.


Bittersweet debut

He made his league debut on September 13, 2008, in the second game of the 2008/09 campaign, where Barça and Racing drew 0-0 at the Camp Nou. Despite the result, Piqué played well and was one of the main reasons why the Cantabrians failed to score.


Goal at the Bernabéu

But Piqué has also contributed to the attack. He has scored as many as seven league goals for Barça, the first being the sixth in the famous 6-2 win at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid on May 2, 2009, a goal that the Barça fans will never forget.


He also scored crucial goals in the 2010/11 season away to Atletico Madrid and Vila-real. The last time he was on target was last November 19 away to Zaragoza.


Barça blood

Piqué senses the FCB colours like few others. They say he has Barça in his blood, for his grandfather Amador Bernabéu was a member ofthe board and Gerard was made a member of the club from birth. He was already in the youth system at the age of ten, and even when he played for Manchester United and Zaragoza (2004-2008) he always said that he was determined to come back to Barcelona one day. This he did, where he and Puyol have formed one of the strongest central defences in world football.


LEAGUE............MATCH..................GOALS
2008/2009.........25..........................1
2009/2010.........32..........................2
2010/2011.........31..........................3
2011/2012.........11..........................1

TOTAL..................99..........................7

FCB,

Manel Tomàs

 

[Classik]

SUPPORTERS' CLUBS


The PB Centenari holds wedding in Camp Nou

www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-27-2012 13:11

A wedding was held at midday today between tewo members of the supporters club

They met at a supporters club event and today got married

Weddings at the Camp Nou / PHOTO: ÃLEX CAPARRÓS - FCB

The Penya Barcelonista Centenari de Barcelona has been official since 1999, and took its name from the club centenary that year. They are based in the Barcelona district of Poblenou, and were created by volunteers involved in the events held by FC Barcelona that year. The thirteen year old club is presided by Frederic Gonzalez and has more than one hundred members.


A relationship started at the club

When Elisa moved to Barcelona from Honduras seven years ago, she met Teresa Bigatà through a common friend, and was invited to join the Barça world and the PB Centenari, for which the latter is still a board member.


Bigatà invited Elisa to the event to celebrate the club's seventh anniversary, which is where she met another member of the club, Jaume. They started going out together and as the years went by, they became an established couple.


The two have shared several Barça moments together. They were at the 2009 cup final in Valencia, the first of the six titles that FC Barcelona won that year, and have enjoyed all of the huge successes that have followed in eachother's company.


And today in the Sala Roma at the Camp Nou they and one hundred and fifty guests, including the whole of the supporter's club's board, enjoyed getting married at such a wonderful venue and in such splendid company. This truly isa love borne out of Barça.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Cuenca to extend contract through 2014/15 season


WWW.FCBARCELONA.CAT


The player will sign his new contract on Tuesday, January 31st

PHOTO: ARXIU FCB


The FC Barcelona player has agreed to extend his contract with the Club until June 30th, 2015. Cuenca will sign his new contract on Tuesday, January 31st.


Cuenca made his official debut with FC Barcelona’s first team in the Champions League match against Viktoria Plzen, since then he has regularly trained and been named to Guardiola’ssquads. The Barça striker has scored two goals inthe league and two in the King’s Cup.

FCB

 

[Classik]

18 players picked to face Villareal


Josep Guardiola has named the 14 available first-team players plus Cuenca, Dos Santos, Sergi Roberto and Cristian Tello to FC Barcelona’s squad for tomorrow’s match against Villareal


Barça’s train will travel to Benicassim instead of the originally planned Castellón

The team at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB


The list

Valdés, Pinto, Piqué, Fàbregas, Puyol, Xavi, Messi,Thiago, Mascherano, Sergio Busquets, Adriano, Abidal, Alves, Pedro, Jonathan dos Santos, Isaac Cuenca, Sergi Roberto and Cristian Tello.

Barça completed their final training session at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper before Saturday’s match at El Madrigal . At the conclusion of the session the Barça manager named 18 players to the team: all 14 available first-team players plus Cuenca , Dos Santos , SergiRoberto and Tello .

With the Club’s permission, José Manuel Pinto didnot train with his teammates as he was attending to a personal matter.

Trip itinerary

The team will travel to Villareal on Saturday morning. The initial plan, however, was to travelto Castellón by train but the security authorities could not guarantee adequate safety measures at the Castellón train station. Hence, the team will travel to Benicassim instead. From there they will complete their journey to Villareal by coach.


The team will eat together at the hotel and depart for El Madrigal approximately one hour before the match. The game against Villareal starts at 22.00. After the game the team will return to Barcelona and arrive at 3.20.

FCB,

VANESSA FORNS

 

[Classik]

Guardiola: “Villareal's position in the standings is not representative of the quality of their playersâ€

The Barça manager considers that Villareal’s current 17th place in the table doesn’t reflect thequality of José Francisco Molina’s team

Guardiola confirms that Isaac Cuenca is now a full-time first-team player and that he will not return to the B side


Minute of silence in memory of the journalist Dani Montesinos

A minute of silence was observed in memory of journalist Dani Montesinos before Guardiola’s pre-match press conference. Besides journalists from different news outlets and the Barça manager, the captains of the first team, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Valdés, were also present for the minute of silence. “It’s a shame, a terrible loss. I think he’s been to just about every press conference. There isn’t a bigger embrace that we could give to his whole family,†said Guardiola


Josep Guardiola knows that tomorrow’s match at El Madrigal will be difficult. “In the last couple ofyears it’s been a difficult ground for us, it won’t be any different this time,†explained the Barça manager. He added that “their position in the standings does not correspond to the quality of the players they have or to their recent history.†Despite missing key players to injury, Barça’s opponent this Saturday “ continues to play football very well .â€


He calls on the youngsters to be bold

Guardiola has had to piece together a team for matchday 21 of the league after Iniesta and Alexis were injured in the Cup match midweek. The Barça manager included Cuenca , Sergio Robetro , Cristian Tello and Jonathan Dos Santos in his team along with the 14 available first-team players. Guardiola know’s exactly what he wants from the youngsters: “you can expect things from players that don’t get the call-up regularly. They must be themselves. They mustn’t be afraid, they need to be bold and they must help us in everything.â€


On Cuenca , who will sign a contract extension next week that will keep him at the Club until 2015, Guardiola confirmed that the striker now forms part of the first team: “he’s new and he plays really well in his position. He is helping us and I hope he will continue help us.â€


The manager admitted that after the Cup match on Wednesday that his team has not had much time to rest. However, he said his players are used to the demanding schedule: “I always thinkthat it’s better to play a match after ensuring qualification. It’s true that we have not had much time to rest, but we are accustomed [to theschedule]. We know what we must do. The second part of the season is about to start and we will try to focus on whatever match we have next and go as far as we can.â€


The importance of making post-match conclusions

On the game against Real Madrid , the Barça manager understands that Los Blancos , despite being eliminated from the Cup, “have a good taste in their mouths, because they played a good game.†He added: “ in a tie that lasts 180 minutes it’s impossible to completely dominate a tam like Madrid . But you have to make conclusions after each game in order to process and move forward.â€

FCB,

VANESSA FORNS

 

[Classik]

Spanish League Preview, Week 20


01-27-2012 22:02

It’s top versus bottom in La Liga this weekend, with Real Madrid at home to Zaragoza (20th place), Barça at Villarreal (17th) and Valencia in Santander to face Racing (16th)

PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB


First vs Last at the Bernabeu

With their interest in the Cup at an end, leaders Real Madrid face bottom club Zaragoza at the

Bernabeu on Saturday. After winning 0-6 in the La Romareda in their opening league game and


with Zaragoza without a win on the road so far this season, Madrid are obviously favourites, but


Mourinho won’t have forgotten last year’s game,when Zaragoza won 2-3. Barça’s next Cup

opponents, Valencia, are 14 points adrift of Madrid and with the Cup perhaps their only realistic

chance of a trophy, it will be interesting to see if Emery rests players ahead of Wednesday’s


game when his team visit Racing on Sunday. Thehosts have taken 11 points from their last five

games and hauled themselves out of the bottomthree, whilst Valencia have managed just five


points from the last 15 on offer.

Pressure building on Levante
Levante have yet to win a league game in 2012 and after being knocked out of the Cup by

Valencia midweek, they will hope to put that right on Sunday when they entertain Getafe, whilst

Espanyol, closing in on Levante, now just three points behind, are at home to Mallorca after

their shock Cup exit at the hands of part timers Mirandes on Tuesday. The fourth Cup semi-

finalist, Athletic Bilbao, are also pressing Levante hard and with just a single defeat in their

last six league games, they will be aiming to keep up that pressure when they travel to Rayo

on Saturday. Bilbao are a point behind Osasuna and level with Atletico Madrid, who meet in

Pamplona on Monday night, when Osasuna’s Raul Garcia, on loan from Atletico, will face a

strange situation and he explained: “I’ll be defending Osasuna’s colours, but I know I belong to


Atleticoâ€.

Seville and Malaga need to end bad runs

Seville and Malaga are immediately below Atletico and they meet on Sunday night at the

Rosaleda. Seville this week finalised the loan of ex-Barça man Martin Caceres to Juventus and brought back the on-loan Cala from AEK Athens, as they attempt to put their bid for a European
spot back on track after just two points from their last five games, whilst Malaga are also on a bad run, with no win in their last six.


Abel makes debut at Betis

With Racing, Villarreal and Zaragoza facing a tough weekend, Sporting (19th on 18 points) could make up ground when they travel to Anoeta to face Real Sociedad, who themselves are sitting just three points ahead of Manolo Preciado’s team and perhaps still reeling from last weekend’s thrashing by Atletico Madrid. Granada are just a point ahead of Sporting and are involved in the Sunday noon game, when new boss Abel Resina has the chance to make his mark when his team travel to Andalucia neighbours Betis.

FCB,

Nick Bedson

 

[Classik]

Spotlight on Villarreal


01-28-2012 10:55

Last season Barça beat Villarreal 0-1 at El Madrigal and haven’t lost there since the 2007-08 campaign, when the hosts won 3-1

Villarreal need goals, because they’ve managed just 18 in their first 19 games

Villareal's goal celebration / PHOTO: www.villarealcf.es

Villarreal, nicknamed “El Submarino Amarillo†– the Yellow Submarine – have gone from Champions League qualifiers to relegation strugglers this season, but they maintain their creative style after a dazzling decade in the top flight.


History

In many ways, Villarreal are punching above their weight in La Primera, with their 25,000 capacity El Madrigal ground sufficient to hold almost half of the population of the town, set in Valencia’s orange growing area. They were founded in 1923, but didn’t make their debut in the top flight until 1998 and although that first taste of the Primera only lasted for one season, they were back again the following year and began a fantastic decade of unheard of success. The arrival of Juan Roman Riquelme from Barça in 2003 set the tone for the next few years, with big names such as Diego Forlan, Pepe Reina, Robert Pires, Marcos Senna, Joan Capdevilla and Santi Cazorla helping them to a semi final appearance in the 2004 UEFA Cup and most memorably a Champions League semi final defeat to Arsenal in 2006, as well as finishing as runners up in the Spanish League in the 2007-08 season.


Form guide

Last year, under Juan Carlos Garrido, Villarreal finished fourth in the league and after qualifying, made the Champions League group stage this season, though they finished bottom, failing to win a single game in a group with Manchester City, Naples and Bayern Munich.

Villarreal also made a poor start to the league season, marked by serious injuries to Nilmar and Rossi (who between them scored 29 goals last year) and finished the first half of the campaign in 17th spot, having won only four games. They were knocked out of the Cup by Mirandes in December – a result that led to the sacking of Garrido and his replacement by Jose Fransisco Molina. In their two games at El Madrigal since Christmas they have held Valencia to a 2-2 draw and last week beat Sporting 3-0, a result Molina reckoned: “will give us confidence, we needed itand now I think the players will believe in what we are doingâ€.


Ones to watch

With Rossi out and Nilmar just back, though not included in Molina’s plans as he is about to be sold, possibly to Sao Paulo, Villarreal need goals – they’ve managed just 18 in their first 19 games, with Marco Ruben their leading scorer onsix goals, likely to be supported by the home grown youngster Joselu against Barça on Saturday night. Villarreal’s midfield creativity is provided by Borja Valero, who joined in 2010 from West Bromwich Albion after a year on loan at Mallorca. Borja made his full international debut last year and was also named in UEFA.com’s Spanish League team of the season.


Record against Barça

Last season Barça beat Villarreal 0-1 at El Madrigal and haven’t lost there since the 2007-08 campaign, when the hosts won 3-1. Earlier this season, Barça opened the defence of their title

with a 5-0 thrashing of Villarreal at the Camp Nou, with goals from Thiago, Alexis, Cesc and a brace from Messi.

FCB,

Nick Bedson

 

[Classik]

Pedro injured, Alexis travels to Villareal


www.fcbarcelona.cat 01-28-2012 11:21


Barça’s Spanish striker will miss tonight’s match due to an injury he picked up in yesterday’s training session, the Chilean, who is responding well to treatment, was included in Guardiola’s list

Alexis and Cesc waiting to board the train. PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB.


The Barça team travelling to Castellón to play against Villareal in tonight’s league match had a few surprises before their train left Sants Estació. Pedro Rodríguez will miss the match due to injury and Alexis Sánchez will be at El Madrigal.


Injured during yesterday’s training session

According to the team’s Medical Services, at the end of Friday’s training session, Pedro was having problems. The tests confirmed that the player has a contraction in the abductor of his left thigh. He will miss the match against Villareal and his availability will depend on his recovery.


On a better note, Alexis is responding favourably to treatment and is recovering from his acromioclavicular injury sustained in this Wednesday’s Clásico. The Chilean was a last-minute addition to Guardiola’s team for tonight’s match.

FCB

 

[Classik]

Villareal v FC Barcelona: Big test at El Madrigal



01-28-2012 11:49

22.00, TV3 and La Sexta: Barça go to Villareal with important absentees as they chase three more points to keep leaders Real Madrid in their sights

Víctor Valdés against Villareal / PHOTO: CAPARRÓS - FCB

FC Barcelona go to Villareal for the last game in January, and they won't want to drop any points if they want to stay in the hunt for their fourth consecutive league title. They travel south with their morale high after putting Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, which means they are still challenging to win all three major trophies this season.


Big absences

But it is never easy to get three points at El Madrigal, and Pep Guardiola has only 14 first team players available after Alexis and Iniesta both went down with injuries midweek, and therefore join Villa , Afellay and Fontàs on the sidelines, not forgetting that Seydou Keita is alsoaway, due to his participation in the African Nations Cup.


Young guns ready to fire

It's hardly the situation Guardiola would have wanted at such a crucial time of the season, but rather than lament the circumstances, players like Cesc Fàbregas said on Wednesday that "if we have to play for 90 minutes in five games in a row, we'll do it, and if we have to play with tenmen, we'll do that too. It won't change anything. We are who we are and we just have to keep pushing forwards . What's more, we have a greatreserve team". Indeed, the Barça B youngsters are the best winter signing the club could have wished for, and against Vila-real, Isaac Cuenca , Jonathan dos Santos , Sergi Roberto and Tello have all been named in the squad.


Dangers of Villareal

Barça have to take special care over this trip to Villareal. The side from Castellón have always made things difficult for the Catalans, even though this is anything but the best season they have ever had in the first division. They have been managed since the New Year by José Franciso Molina , who replaced Juan Carlos Garrido, and last Monday finally made it out of the relegation zone thanks to a win against fellow strugglers Sporting Gijón . The yellow submarine will be keen for another victory, but they know it won't be easy against the Europeanchampions. Their manager said this week that " it is impossible to beat FC Barcelona without playing a brilliant match ". He has named a provisional squad of 19, because goalkeeper Diego López has gone down with a fever and may not be able to play.

FCB,

Anna Segura

 

[Classik]

Luck fails to reward commitment (0-0)


01-29-2012 00:20

A hard working display from Barça wasn’t enough to see off Villarreal in a hard fought game the visitors had the best chances in, including a shot against the woodwork from Cesc on 78 minutes

Messi, al camp del Vila-real. FOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB.

Hit hard by injuries and maybe feeling the after-effects of their midweek exertions, Barça dropped two points at El Madrigal, despite fighting till the very end and with all means at their disposal. Villarreal proved to be a demanding opponent, belying their poor position in the table, disrupting Barça's game in the first half and defending valiantly after the break as Guardiola's men upped the pressure. Cesc hit the woodwork and Messi had his chances towards the end, but luck wasn't on Barça's side and despite all their hard work they now find themselves seven points behind leaders Real Madrid, who earlier beat Zaragoza 3-1.

Promising start

Guardiola began the game with six possible defenders, but with a three man defence – Piqué, Puyol and Abidal - as Mascherano began in midfield and Adriano and Alves were used to maraud down the flanks. The first exchanges all went Barça's way - with 94% of possession by the seventh minute- and Alves (on 2 minutes) and Messi(on 17) both had good chances, but theBrazilian's shot was turned wide and Messi's crafty chip went just inches wide.


Villareal hit back

Villarreal gradually began to find a way into the game after withstanding the initial onslaught though, and with Cani and Borja Valero both taking no prisoners – with 15 fouls in the first 45 minutes – they began to create their own danger. Mascherano was forced to clear with Valdes beaten on 27 minutes and soon after Marco Rubén should have done better to round off a quick counter attack. There was even a disallowed goal from Gonzalo for a clear offside as the hosts enjoyed their best moments, forcing Guardiola to drop Mascherano into a back four.


Guardiola looks for width

Villarreal continued to trouble Barça after the break - with a big shout for a penalty on Borja byBusquets – until the Champions again lifted theirgame and began to spread the ball wide for Adriano, who saw one excellent cross go begging in the absence of a clear striker up front. Guardiola then brought on Alexis for Piqué to offer more penetration and Barça were now back in control and the chances began to flow asthey laid siege to the Villarreal area.


Woodwork denies Cesc

The last 15 minutes saw Villarreal pinned back in their half, desperately trying to waste time and run the clock down as Guardiola threw on the incisive Tello and Thiago to try and get the winning goal. Barça went at the task with plentyof commitment, but they were out of luck when Cesc hit the bar after great play from Tello on 78 minutes and Messi again found Villarreal keeper Diego López up to the job on 86 minutes. The team never let their heads drop and kept on looking for the win till the end – something they are sure to do till the end of the season!

FCB,

Jordi Clos

 

[Classik]

Tello debuts in La Liga

01-29-2012 00:57

The reserve side striker, who played his first match under Guardiola in the Cup against Hospitalet, played in his first La Liga game tonight


The 20-year-old youngster said that it was “great to be able to playâ€

Tonight at El Madrigal Cristian Tello made his debut in the Liga. The striker, who was one of the four youngsters from the reserve side called by Guardiola to travel with the first team to Villareal, came onto the pitch in the 75th minute.The player needed only 18 minutes on the field to change the dynamic of the match. After the game Tello said that he was “happy with his performance, but it was tarnished by the draw.†He added that “I was comfortable [on the pitch] and I’m grateful to the boss for his confidence. It was great to be able to play.â€


This was Tello’s first match in the Spanish top flight but his debut with the first team came in the Cup against Hospitalet . The Catalan striker started in the away match of the round of 32 andhe also played in the return leg. He scored two ofBarça’s nine goals at the Camp Nou that day.

FCB,

Anna Segura