Piqué: “We are Barça, we’ll move forward”

The centre back is confident that the team will be able cut into the lead that Madrid currently has over the reigning champions

Gerard Piqué is confident that FC Barcelona will bounce back after the loss to Getafe. “I’m convinced that the team will give everything they’ve got to be fighting for the title at the end of the season.” The centre defender called on the Camp Nou faithful to “trust us.” While adding that, "there are may games still yet to be played, a lot of points up for grabs. Madrid is doing things a bit better and we have to turn this situation around. We are Barça and we’ll move forward.”

The players are aware that they have no time to dwell on the defeat against Getafe as FC Barcelona will host Rayo Vallecano on Tuesday at the Camp Nou. Piqué said he doesn’t wan’t to think about the game against Madrid but it’s important, with the Clásico looming, that against Rayo and Levante “the team must win six points.”

Víctor Valdés

“We’re disappointed because it was a defeat that wasn’t expected. The team did a good job but we didn’t take advantage of our chances.”

“We knew we had to win here but it didn’t work out. We have to pick ourselves up because we have a game right around the corner.”

“We have to keep on fighting. The sooner we lift our heads the better. We have to work hard because we have a game in a couple of days. We have to concentrate on winning our matches.”

“It’s a really negative result and we have to pick ourselves up as soon as possible.”

David Villa

“We don’t have to make excuses. We gave it our all and we tried to win but it wasn’t possible.”

“The team played well but we didn’t capitalise on our opportunities. They scored off a fateful corner.”

“We’re far away [from Madrid] but there is still a lot of time. This isn’t over. We have a game against them that we can win. We have to take it step by step.”

Maxwell

“We needed to score early on. When time ticks away it gets a bit more complicated.”

“We must be patient and focus on the next match.”

“It’s a big difference but we still have work to do, we need to see where we made mistakes and where we can improve.”

Getafe - FC Barcelona: The show goes on

Guardiola has Alves and Adriano back after they missed the Milan game, but Iniesta is still out

Jordi Clos

Barça are going into the final month of 2011 in fine form, as they showed last weekend with a convincing 4-0 win over Zaragoza and then again midweek in the Champions League at the San Siro, beating AC Milan 3-2. But three days after delighting Europe once more, they travel to the ever-complicated Getafe. It's important to maintain the pressure on Real Madrid, who will have played an awkward derby with Atlético Madrid just before.
The Getafe game is one of five for Barça before they go to the Clubs World Cup. After this game, they face Rayo, Levante, Viktoria Plzen and Madrid, all at the Camp Nou apart from the clásico.
Alves and Adriano return
The league champions go into the game with an almost full squad. Adriano was given medical clearance to play on Friday and Alves is back after missing the Milan game through suspension. So the only absentees are Iniesta, who is rested as precautionary measure, and Afellay. Barça B full back Isaac Cuenca completes the squad of twenty.
So once again there is no clear idea what kind of team or format manager Pep Guardiola is going to opt for.
Getafe strong at home
Getafe, meanwhile, have finally got out of the relegation zone, which has had a lot do with their excellent form at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, where they haven't lost since September 18. Manager Luis García will be pleased to have Lopo back, but will have to do without the injured Miguel Torres and the suspended Abdel Barrada.

Andrés Iniesta declared fit

Iniesta has recovered from the hamstring injury sustained in the Champions League against Milan. The midfielder was given medical clearance after taking part in a training session involving mainly Barça B players.

After pulling a hamstring against AC Milan on September 13, Iniesta is back to full fitness.

No internationals

He was told the good news this morning at the Ciutat Esportiva after a session in which Pep Guardiola was bereft of all of the players that have been called up for international duty. So, the only first team players on pitch number 3 were Iniesta, Maxwell, Pinto and Fontàs, training in the company of the Barça B squad.

Javier Mascherano, who is suspended for Argentina’s game against Chile on the 7th, worked out in the gym. He will be flying out to join the rest of his international team mates later this week to prepare for their second World Cup qualifier against Venezuela.

Cesc Fàbregas, who got injured on Saturday, is still recovering at the Ciutat Esportiva. Meanwhile, Abidal, who hurt his hamstring at El Molinón at the weekend, is not as badly injured as had been feared, and was able to travel to join the rest of his French international team mates.

Pep: “It is always hard to beat Sporting”

Having analysed Sunday’s game in depth, Guardiola is aware that Sporting is one of the teams his Barça finds hardest to beat. He has a lot of respect for the team and the fans at El Molinón and is not overly concerned about injury issues.

“I am worried about particular things, but not the recent succession of muscle injuries. There are always injuries in football and there always will be”, said Guardiola, who does not feel Cesc’s hamstring injury has anything to do with the other injuries suffered by the team.

Strong Sporting defence
The first time Guardiola faced Sporting as a manger, his side won 6-1, but it has not always been so easy to break down Preciado’s teams. “It is one of the games we have found the hardest and the scores have always been close. We always find it hard to beat Sporting because they defend very well and have an intense ground where the fans help them a lot. But we even find it hard to beat them when we’re at home”.

This has not been a great season so far for the Asturians, but Guardiola doesn’t think his counterpart’s job is on the line. “They won’t sack him. If anybody has done things for that team, it’s him. He’s saved them every year and they’ve been in some very difficult situations. He always pulls it off and this year will be no exception.”

Cesc out
Guardiola admits that it’s always a setback to lose players to injury, but knows that is all part of football. Describing what happened to Cesc, he said “he was going in for a cross and overstretched himself, he scored the goal but got hurt. But luckily it’s not too serious and he’ll be back once the international break is over”.

He added that Cesc usually takes exceptionally good care of himself and works hard on injury prevention, but that all the same, these things can happen. He doesn’t think there are any more injury worries at the moment than there were this time last season.

Puyol and Alexis
Carles Puyol is back in the side after taking a nasty knock in Minsk, while he insisted that although Alexis has been given permission to return to Chile to recover from his injury, that does not imply that he can play for his country. “At first it was important for him to be here, but at the current stage of his recovery he can go to be with his family and one of the club’s physios is travelling with him. He has permission to go to Chile but not to play for the national team”.

Messi: "I want to continue breaking records"

Once again another Leo Messi exhibition. With the three goals he scored against Athletico Madrid, the Argentine star has now scored 192 goals for Barça, just two behind the legendary Hungarian striker Laszi Kubala, who scored 194 in total.

He’s only 24, but Messi’s are the stats of a veteran. He’s about to catch Kubala and is increasingly closer to reaching the top scorer in the history of the Club, Cesar Rodriguez (235). In an exclusive interview on Barça TV’s “El Marcador”, Messi expressed his desire to continue making history at Barça: "I’m pretty calm about it. I just take it a game at a time, but obviously I'm very excited about becoming top scorer. Many years have gone by and it’s still the same player [referring to Kubala]. Hopefully I can beat his stats. I want to continue breaking records here".

"I don’t think about the milestones ahead"
The great form Messi is in is not making him think about the challenges ahead, except team ones "We have to take it all bit by bit, without thinking about milestones. I think the most important thing for this team is to keep winning, and keep winning titles for us and the fans. This is far more important than any individual prize or statistic".

Athletico Madrid, his favourite victim
He’s already scored 14 goals against Athletico in the League, and they’re his favourite victim, ahead of Seville (10). Yesterday he scored a hat-trick, the eleventh of his career as a professional footballer, and his third against Athletico Madrid. As tradition dictates, the Argentinian took the match-ball home with him: "I’ll find a place to put it, alongside the other balls I have" said the striker. It was also his 150th goal in the Guardiola era.

New formation
Messi admits that they still have to adapt to the 3-4-3 system that Guardiola has used recently, but he’s pretty excited about it: "We feel pretty comfortable with it. There are some things we still aren’t doing well, just like with the previous system, but that's OK. It takes time and practice. We still aren’t totally used to it. Personally I'm pretty happy, because up front we have more space and we can link up better with the midfield players, and receive more passes".

Travelling, the order of the week for the first team

Barça face a week full of activity and travelling is the order of the week. On Tuesday the team will travel to Belarus to play the next game in the Champions League, and Sunday they’ll travel to Gijón, for the next Spanish League match.

Following the 5-0 win against Athletico Madrid , and having enjoyed a rest day, the group led by Josep Guardiola will start a week in which the scheduled training sessions will be planned around the travelling that the team will have to do in the Champions League and League.
 
Tuesday, to Minsk
The First Team will be back at training on Monday in a session scheduled to start at 11.00 at the Joan Gamper training ground. Activity on Tuesday will begin very early in the morning The Barça expedition is expected to leave the Camp Nou at 8.15 to start the journey to Minsk (Belarus), where on Wednesday (20.45) they’ll face Bate Borisov in the second round of the group stage of the top European competition.
On Tuesday, the squad will train at the Dynamo stadium from 19.30, and the corresponding press conferences will take place. After the game on Wednesday the squad won’t travel back to Barcelona until Thursday, when they’re scheduled to set off at 11.00.
 
Two training sessions before the match against Sporting
On Friday and Saturday, the weekly planning will include training each day, scheduled for 11.00, to be held at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper. As usual, the day before a match, Guardiola will appear before the media at the press conference prior to Sunday’s match against Sporting Gijon.

A footballing anthology (5-0)

Barça have destroyed Atlético Madrid with a formidable display of tactics and skill. Villa, Miranda (og) and Messi put the home side ahead after just 26 minutes and the best player in the world was simply amazing in the second half.

Atlético Madrid were beaten after just 26 minutes following some amazing football from a set of players that just seem to get better and better. Xavi was monumental as he orchestrated the onslaught on the visitors’ goal, with Barça suffocating the red and white midfield with devastating possession play that as good as had the job done before the first half hour was up. Atlético may have been one of the most impressive teams so far this season, but they were powerless to contain FCB, who completed the show with two more goals in the second half, one of which will go down among Messi’s greatest ever.

Villa gets dream start
Although the mattress-makers drew first blood with a Tiago shot onto the bar after just 4 minutes, Barça, once again playing with just three defenders (Alves, Mascherano and Abidal) soon started making their presence felt. After dominating the possession, they first hit the target thanks to Villa, who controlled a magnificent pass from Xavi on his chest and left Courtois floundering with a precision finish. Xavi was involved in the action shortly after, this time supplying Pedro, whose effort narrowly skimmed wide of the post.

Exhibition from Xavi to make it 3-0
Barça didn’t hold off. Xavi continued his extraordinary first half with a cheeky back-heel that led to the second goal. However, it will officially go down to the unfortunate Miranda, off whose body the ball rebounded after Courtois had parried away Messi’s strike. The Camp Nou was about to be soaked by a massive downpour, but nothing was going to dampen the spirits of Pep Guardiola’s charges. It was time for some Messi magic, in yet another move inspired by the omnipresent Xavi, in which he wove his way around the entire Atlético defence and slotted the ball home inside the near post. A goal that was simply a delight to behold.

Tactical battle
Both sides like to play the ball around in the middle, and that is where most of the action took place. But Barça had the perfect game plan to deal with a very talented opponent indeed, and made sure neither Diego nor Falcao got too involved in what was going on. Instead, all the chances were going Barcelona’s way, and Cesc almost made it four with a deft chip shortly before the break. Gregorio Manzano was clearly looking to shake things up a bit in the second half, when he sent on Salvio and Arda Turan, while Guardiola was under considerably less pressure and decided to give Piqué his first taste of match action since his return from injury. He was welcomed with a huge ovation and settled in nicely in what went back to being a four-man defence.

Messi unstoppable

As the minutes ticked by, Barcelona looked in absolute control of what was going on and continued piling the pressure on Courtois, especially through Messi and Villa. The Argentinian sent the stadium into raptures with a run that Maradona would have proud of in the 72nd minute that he finished off with a perfectly executed strike to make it 4-0. Not even that was enough. In injury time, he and Villa combined and the Argentinian completed a spectacular hat-trick to make it five. There is no doubting that Atlético is one of his favourite victims, and once again the red and whites are leaving the Camp Nou on the back of a thrashing in which at times they were merely spectators of another truly marvellous display form FC Barcelona.

Goals

1-0 Villa (min 9)
2-0 Miranda (p.p.) (min 15)
3-0 Messi (min 26)
4-0 Messi (min 77)
5-0 Messi (min 91)

Gerard Piqué declared fit

The Barça defender has been given medical clearance and is therefore available for selection by Pep Guardiola for Saturday’s game with Atlético Madrid. Piqué hasn’t played since the Spanish Supercup game with Real Madrid.

Piqué has been sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury which has meant he has yet to play any Liga games and also missed the European Supercup game in Monaco and the Champions League meeting with AC Milan. He hasn’t appeared for Barça since the second leg of the Spanish Supercup game at Camp Nou in mid August.

First day without Afellay
Pep Guardiola may well include the centre back in his team to face Atlético Madrid on Saturday. The team trained this evening as they get ready for that match, which kicks off at the Camp Nou at 10.00. Ibrahim Afellay was missing after tearing cruciate ligaments in his left knee on Thursday. Alexis Sánchez and Andrés Iniesta were also absent through injury.

Reserve player Marc Muniesa is also recovering from his own injury and joined the first team for training on pitch 2 at the Ciutat Esportiva.

Last session on Saturday
This Saturday, as usual for home matches, the squad will train again at 12.30 in the morning behind closed doors at the Camp Nou.

Messi starts voting for FIFPro

As the winner of the last edition, the Argentinian has cast the first vote for the FIFPro 2011 Awards. He was one of six players in the 2010 All Star Team

Leo Messi has cast the first vote for the FIFPro 2011 Awards, which recognises the best player in the world and the best eleven, promoted by the World Association of Professional Footballers. Last year’s winner posted his vote at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in the company of representatives of AFE and FIFPro.

Other players, who were there for training, also took advantage of the moment to cast their own votes. 45,000 footballers from around the world will vote for the best player and team of 2011.

Barça dominate awards
Apart from Messi, there were another five FCB players in the FIFPro ideal team of 2010: Piqué, Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi and Villa. All six attended the presentation ceremony in Zurich.

Goals in 23 away games

The 2-2 draw in Valencia meant FC Barcelona equalled the all time Liga record of scoring 23 goals in away fixtures. In ten day’s time, Barça will be able to set an outright record when they travel to Gijón.

 

► The streak equals that by Real Madrid 50 years ago between game 27 of the 1950/51 season and game 12 of 1952/53.

► Puyol played his 350th league game at Mestalla. He won three balls and made 20 good passes.

► Cesc has become the first Barça midfielder ever to score in the first four games of a league campaign.

► Xavi was the most active player last night with 103 passes.

► Dani Alves, who played as left back and left midfielder, led his team in successful tackles, fourteen.

► Pedro scored his 47th goal for Barça in Valencia, and his 23rd away from home. . Four of those, like the one at Mestalla, were scored in the first quarter of an hour of the match.

► Emery and Guardiola had drawn 2-2 in Valencia before in the 2008/09 season, when a Pablo goal also made it 2-1 before Henry snatched a late equaliser. The game went in a strikingly similar fashion to Wednesday’s game, although Barça scored first in the previous match.

► Valdés (414) is only seven appearances behind Guillermo Amor (421), the player who is currently fifth in the club’s all-time ranking.

► The goalkeeper has played 299 league matches. He could make his 300th appearance against Atlético Madrid, the side against which he made his debut.

► Barça have not finished any games this season in which they have only conceded one goal. They have either kept a clean sheet or conceded two.

Xavi: "Cesc’s presence is improving my football"

Xavi Hernández has admitted that "I am very happy with Cesc. I think his presence on the field improves my football”.

Cesc and Xavi are clearly compatible. Cynics had suggested that there was no room for two in the same side, but they have been proven wrong in dramatic style. "I and we are very happy on the pitch. I think we complement each other quite well. I he goes up I stay back and cover for him or vice versa. We have shown that many times this year. I think Cesc makes my football better” said Xavi today.

3-4-3
Asked about the system that has been used in recent Liga matches, Xavi said "this system is quite good. Considering we are a team that maintains a lot of possession of the ball, it is a good idea to have an extra man in the middle … It does make it harder in defence, but I think it is better to be balanced towards having a stronger midfield. I think we’ve dominated all of the games so far this season, and have done so well ".

Not a two-horse race
Xavi also thinks it is important to note that neither Barça nor Madrid have won all of their games. "I don’t think there are only two teams in this league. The other clubs train very hard, they have quality, strategies, fitness and talent. Saying that is a cruel insult to many good professionals. We are all very close here, and I don’t believe in a bipolar league".

The draw at Mestalla
Xavi said that anything can happen at Mestalla and that "we could have come back with all three points, but it’s also true that Valencia could have won the game in the first half. It was a very nice, dynamic match, with constant changes of tactics and goals. For example, there was at least one clear penalty on Messi and so, although I don’t like to draw, a point isn’t bad given the circumstances”.

As for referees, Xavi made it clear that "they have a very difficult job. They have to make decisions in a tenth of a second and suffer like we do. They do the best they can, they are human, and also have the right to make mistakes, just like we do”.

Saturday assembly

Xavi also spoke about the three main points on the agenda for next Saturday’s assembly. "I agree with a section for young fans. It’s a good initiative, as long as there is no violence. That section will generate enthusiasm. This is the best moment ever in Barça history and now is the time for initiatives like this.” On advertising Qatar, Xavi feels "the club has needs and the Qatar publicity helps. And Qatar is clearly developing as a country and its foundation is trying to do good for everyone. I think it’s good for their image and also for ours”.

As for banning smoking in the Camp Nou, Xavi said "I have no opinions on that. The members should decide. Personally, I have no opinion either one way or the other”.

The 18 available players picked

Josep Guardiola has picked the 18 players he has for the trip to Mestalla on Wednesday, for what will be the fourth match of Barça’s league season.

 

The first team trained behind closed doors at 18.00 on Tuesday for the last time before the trip south to face league leaders Valencia on Wednesday night. All 18 of the currently fit players will be making the journey.

The only missing names are those of Alexis and Iniesta, who are still on recovery programmes, and Piqué, who is now training normally with the rest of the squad, but has not been given medical clearance yet.

Travel plan
On Wednesday, the team will assemble at the Camp Nou at 10.15, from where they will be transferred to El Prat Airport for a flight to Valencia at 11.00. It lands at 11.55, whereupon the squad will rest at a hotel until a coach comes to collect them for a transfer to Mestalla.

Once the game is over, the Barça players will be catching a return flight at 1.15 and will touch down in Barcelona at 2.00 in the morning.

The squad

The players confirmed for the trip are as follows:

Valdés

Pinto

Alves

Fàbregas

Puyol

Xavi

Villa

Messi

Thiago

Mascherano

Keita

Sergio

Pedro

Maxwell

Afellay

Adriano

Abidal 

Fontàs

Soldado and Messi, top scorers clash at Mestalla

After three games, two players are already top of the goalscoring charts with five goals. Soldado and Messi will be on the same pitch at Mestalla on Wednesday night.

The Liga champions face the current leaders in what promises to be a cracking encounter on Wednesday night, and the game also brings together the most effective strikers of the campaign so far: Soldado and Messi.

Messi, the tip of the iceberg
Soldado and Messi have been getting the lion’s share of the goals for Valencia and Barça this season. The Argentinian has been the author of 5 of the 15 goals his side has scored so far, and has also supplied assists for three of the others.

Soldado scores 83% of Valencia goals
The Valencia forward has scored 5 of his team’s 6 goals this season, including an opening day hat-trick in the 4-3 defeat of Racing Santander. He has scored in every game so far, getting the only goals in 1-0 wins over Atletico Madrid and Gijón. Four of those goals have been the result of Soldado’s opportunistic eye in the area, while the other was an absolute scorcher against Atletico. However, Valencia is anything but a one-man show, for his job is generally to finish off the exquisite creative playmaking of players like Piatti, Pablo, Canales and Jonas.

Super 8 (8-0)

An exquisite performance saw Barça put eight past Osasuna-five in the first half- at the Camp Nou tonight, with strikes from Messi (3), Villa (2), Cesc, Xavi and an own goal from Roversio.

Following their last two drawn games against Real Sociedad and AC Milan, Barça were again back to their imperious selves against Osasuna at the Camp Nou tonight. A fantastic first half which saw them playing at great pace, holding onto the ball and seemingly creating chances at will as they scored five goals to set up the win. They didn’t let up after the break either, scoring three more and leaving the scoreline to say it all : 8-0.

Surprises in the line up

Guardiola surprised Osasuna with a 3-4-3 formation, using Mascherano, Puyol (making a welcome return to the starting 11) and Abidal at the back behind a midfield diamond of Busquets, Xavi, Thiago and Cesc, with Villa, Messi and Alves (playing as a right winger) as the front three and it couldn’t have started better, as after just 4 minutes, Busquets found Alves out on the right with an inch perfect pass and the Brazilian crossed for Messi at the far post to open the scoring.

Barça just looked unstoppable and within the first quarter of an hour Cesc had doubled their lead with a lovely left footed volley after being put in by Messi.

5-0 at half time
Seemingly having learnt the lesson from recent games, the Barça players were playing a fast paced possession football with their opponents’ goal always their target and they enjoyed an astonishing 80% of possession in the first half. Cesc nearly made it three on 25 minutes, only for the Basque team’s keeper Fernandez to this time get the better of him and soon after Messi headed against the woodwork. There was little the keeper could do as Villa rounded him just past the half hour to get his first of the night though and the team showed their hunger for goals was still there with two in two minutes, as Roversio put through his own net after Villa’s shot had been blocked and then Cesc brilliantly set up Messi for a relatively simple tap in.

And three more!
It was clear from the start of the second half that more was to come and Messi hit the bar with a lovely chip, something Xavi managed to better with a lob over the keeper soon after to make it six. Guardiola now brought of Xavi, Puyol and Abidal, which momentarily at least seemed to give Osasuna a glimpse of at least getting close to Valdes.

However, Barça were soon back to scoring, with Cesc setting up Villa for his second on 75 minutes and soon after Messi claiming his hat trick with a trade mark individual effort to round off a pitiless display of attacking prowess that was just unstoppable, as the champions, led by the world’s best player, made it 13 goals in the team’s two Camp Nou league games so far this campaign.

Goals

1-0 Messi (min 4)
2-0 Cesc (min 13)
3-0 Villa (min 33)
4-0 Roversio own goal (min 39)
5-0 Messi (min 41)
6-0 Xavi (min 56)
7-0 Villa (min 75)
8-0 Messi (min 79)

Guardiola: “I’m not promising titles. I’m promising we’ll play like we did against Milan”

The Barça manager has defended his team’s methods against Real Sociedad and AC Milan despite the results. “I only expect my players to behave like they have done these last few days”, he said.

 

The style is not negotiable. Josep Guardiola has said that neither the setbacks against Real Sociedad and AC Milan, nor a possible bad result against Osasuna on Saturday, are any reason to doubt the Barça style. “If we don’t play well, we can’t win. And sometimes you play well and still don’t win” he said. “I promise we’ll play like we did against Real Sociedad and AC Milan. Against the Italians, we shot 23 times, had 70% of the possession and played to win. I just hope my players behave like they have done these last few days.”

Not promising titles
That’s all Guardiola is promising. Nothing else. “I haven’t got the strength to promise titles. I’m not promising we’ll win anything this year. Things are won step by step, with a lot of effort and a lot of work. Right now we are only candidates like the other 19 teams are” he added.

Aware of demands
But Guardiola is also aware that he will get some criticism after drawing two games in a week. “At the moment we don’t think anyone can beat Usain Bolt, but somebody will one day. And maybe somebody will win 13 titles out of 15 and beat our 12 out of 15, and then demands will be made of them like they are of us. After winning so much, standards are raised and also the demands”.

Impressed with Mendilíbar and Busquets
But what really matters is Saturday’s game with Osasuna. “Mendilíbar, both at Valladolid and now with Osasuna, is not a manager who speculates. He changes very little whoever the opposition are. He creates pressure, he’s aggressive, and his teams have always caused us problems. Mendilíbar is a manager who gets his personality across and I suppose something similar will happen on Saturday” he said.

Guardiola also used the press conference to justify his decision to play Sergio Busquets at centre back. “In the 5-0 win against Villarreal, Busquets was a great centre back, and now they’re saying he’s useless. I didn’t tell him to chase down Pato, but to divide the ball well. We need him, just like we need Valdés”.

Puyol: "If we work like that, the results will come"

Carles Puyol has it all quite clear: "Results will come, because the first team work is very good". In the press room of the Ciudad Deportiva, the team captain sent a clear message of reassurance to members and fans.

Carles Puyol has it all quite clear: "Results will come, because the first team work is very good". In the press room of the Ciudad Deportiva, the team captain sent a clear message of reassurance to members and fans.
Despite the two draws in the last two official matches, no doubts exist in the dressing room. According to Carles Puyol, "we’re aware of what we have in hand, the bar is very high, and what we’ll do is continue working as we have up to now, and not listen to what’s said from outside". He added: "Sooner or later the results we want will come. We’re in no doubt whatsoever".

Unfair result, good feelings

For Puyol, the draw with Milan "was really unfair, and left a bad taste in our mouths. It was unfortunate, but we must move on and think about the next game". About his feelings, in his comeback after more than three months inactive, Puyol said he "felt very well and the sensations were all very good. I was out for eight months and now I have to start getting into the rhythm of games".

Praise, and injuries

Puyol was very forthright in declaring, "The praise we’ve received over the past few years doesn’t affect us, neither for better nor worse. Just a short while ago we were the best team in the world, and now, some have lots of doubts about us. It’s neither one nor the other. We know where we are and it’s normal that in a football team there are times when we're up and other times when we’re down".
Regarding the various muscle injuries, Puyol indicated that "it’s never good news, but it can happen to anyone….I have to say that we’re doing the same preparation as in other seasons. It’s football and we have to accept it" he added.

Several goals conceded

Puyol believes that the fact that Barça let in 4 goals in 2 games is mainly due to the "merits of the opposition, more than our failures…….here we all defend and attack together, and, therefore, it’s not fair to say that the defence, or the defenders, are to blame” he said.

Xavi: "We’re annoyed, but calm”

The Barça midfielder said that the team are "angry and exasperated" at the 2-2 draw against Milan. At the same time, he stressed: "We have total belief in the team, we know we have a great squad, and there is a good atmosphere in the dressing room.

Xavi Hernandez was the guest, this Tuesday, on the Barça TV program “El Marcador”, where he analysed FC Barcelona’s debut in this season’s Champions League, which ended in a bittersweet 2-2 draw. In this sense, Xavi said the players feel "exasperated" over what happened on the pitch, to a Barça team that, in his opinion, played "at ease, like we usually do, controlling midfield, and having most of the ball possession….it’s pretty clear that we could have done without the first and last thirty seconds of the game, but sometimes football is unjust like that, and this time we were on the receiving end" he added.
"We have to win, now"
With this situation in mind, Xavi said that "we have to carry on, because this has just begun", and he encouraged his teammates to "win now, starting with next Saturday's game against Osasuna". In the same vein, Xavi explained that "the team is a bit down, we can’t explain it…..but we have to carry on, and think that the Group Stage is pretty long. We’re playing good football, but we have to play with more intensity at certain times”, adding that: “We tried everything, but it was tough to get past them, because they were very tight in defence".
When asked if the draw on Tuesday against Milan is comparable to last Saturday’s match at Real Sociedad, Xavi answered emphatically: "What happened on Tuesday is pure bad luck, totally unfair. The other day we dropped our intensity in the second half of the game, but this time the team played well, we pressurized them until the 90th minute, and we had possession of the ball". At the same time, he showed his ambition, and he’s already thinking about the next game: "We have to win, now, this Saturday". He added: "We’ll battle on. We know we have a great team to carry on winning things, and we're competitive. It makes us very excited, and every year we start from scratch, without looking back".
Iniesta's injury
Without a doubt, the worst news of the night was the injury to Iniesta, who’ll be out for four weeks due to a hamstring tear in his left leg. In this sense, Xavier pointed out that Iniesta’s injury "is a shame because he was playing really well…..he felt good physically, and comfortable on the pitch, and then…" he added. Considering Iniesta’s injury, together with the absence of Alexis, Xavi commented that "they’re two players we’ll really miss, because they take on defenders, which is so important in the game today. Alexis gives does this on the wing, and Andres in the middle".
Quality in midfield
On the other hand, Xavi commented on the contributions of Thiago and Cesc Fabregas in midfield: "There’s real quality in midfield. Every year there’s more competition for places, and those of us who have been here longer are there to help. Thiago is brutal, and he makes a difference. As for Cesc, we all know what he can do. He was brought up here, and knows how Barça play. The most important is that players understand our game, and Cesc does that. He came already brought up on it".

Iniesta: “we want to get back on the winning track again”

Ahead of the Milan game, Iniesta stressed the team’s desire to get back to winning ways after the draw on Saturday: “when you don’t win, what you most want is to play again, feel as if you are doing things in the right way and taste victory again".



To be back in the Champions League and in the high quality game against AC Milan is a great place to come back from the disappointment at Anoeta and Iniesta insisted: “the team is feeling really good and here we are starting the Champions League campaign at home against a powerful opponent. It’s important to start on the right foot and taste victory again. We will be doing so with the maximum motivation and excitement”.

“Milan will always be a big team”
Iniesta is clearly a big fan of Milan: “they are a club with seven European Cups. It doesn’t matter who is playing, they will always be one of the big teams. However they play, it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to play against a team like them”.

“It’s a pity Ibrahimovic can’t play”
Iniesta regretted the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovich for Tuesday’s game: “it’s a pity that he can’t play –he’s a great player and you always want to play against good players. He really wanted to come and play and it’s a shame he can’t make it. However, I don’t think that takes anything away from the game which should be fantastic”.

“I’ve got no problem with Van Bommel”
There were a number of questions about Iniesta’s attitude towards Milan’s Mark van Bommel, following the incidents at the World Cup final last summer, but he stressed that there was no problem: “fortunately I have never had any problems with anybody I’ve shared a changing room with. It’s true that during the final there was some rough play, but I prefer to think there was no malicious intent. He’s an opponent, but above all we are professional companions and I respect him in all respects”. 

Champions League back at the Camp Nou

Josep Guardiola will take his 19 man squad to stay overnight at a local hotel tonight ahead of Tuesday’s game against Milan. The squad trained at the Nou Camp this evening in their next to last session before the game.

Four months after beating Real Madrid in the semi finals of the competition at the Camp Nou, Barça will again be on the Champions League trail on Tuesday night and this evening the stadium was full of the Champions League atmosphere, as both teams held press conferences and Guardiola’s men trained on the Camp Nou pitch.

Only two injured players
Guardiola will be without Alexis Sánchez and Gerard Piqué for the start of the Champions League campaign and the two worked apart on their recovery from injury as the rest of the players trained on the Camp Nou pitch. B team defender Marc Muniesa also trained on the Camp Nou pitch – working out with first team trainers as he aimed to recovery from his own injury.

Pinto back in the fold
As usually happens for European games, Pep Guardiola has decided to take the squad to the Hotel La Florida for the night. The 19 man squad includes keeper José Manuel Pinto, who completed his European suspension with the final of the European Super Cup.

The squad will train at the Camp Nou on Tuesday at noon behind closed doors. 

Squad list

Valdés

Pinto

Alves

Fàbregas

Puyol

Xavi

Villa

Iniesta

Messi

Thiago

Mascherano

Keita

Sergio

Pedro

Maxwell

Afellay

Adriano

Abidal

Fontàs

Messi could make his debut against Milan

The Argentine striker hasn’t played any official match against AC Milan. He was on the bench in 2004/05 and the following year in the semifinals of the Champions League he was injured.

 

It was 7 years ago when Leo Messi made his debut in the Champions League. It seems a long time since that game in Donetsk in December 2004, when people began to think that Messi might become a wonderful player. 57 games later in the top European club competition, he’s scored 37 goals and has 3 Champions League winners medals.

Messi has played against the best teams in Europe: Manchester, Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern, Inter, Madrid, but of the last 8 champions, he still hasn’t played against one of world football’s historic teams, the second team with more European Cups: Milan.

Minutes in the Gamper
The only time that Messi has played against Milan was not an official match, but was in the Joan Gamper Trophy last year and he played the second half, as team captain. On that day Barça beat the Italian club on penalties, with an outstanding performance from José Manuel Pinto.

Didn’t play in the last two games

In the 2004/05 season, in the group stage, Messi was on the bench, and saw how Ronaldinho invented one of the best goals in the recent history of the Champions League, in the fourth round of the group stage. At that time Messi had not yet made his debut in the Europe championships.

One year later, with Messi becoming one of the great promises of world football, he missed the semifinals of the Champions League, due to a muscle injury that he picked up in the second round against Chelsea.

Top goalscorer in recent editions
If Guardiola deems fit, Messi will play against AC Milan, rested after being on the bench against Real Sociedad, and motivated by the new challenge in the Champions League. The Argentinian has been top scorer in the last 3 editions of the competition. On 2008/09 he scored 9 goals; 8 goals in 2009/10, and 12 goals in 2010/2012. There are no impossible challenges for the best player on the planet.

Puyol, Maxwell, Afellay and Adriano get medical clearance

Josep Guardiola has all five injured players back in action ahead of Saturday’s league meeting at Anoeta with Real Sociedad.

Good news for FC Barcelona, who have 7 games in 23 days ahead of them, for almost the full squad is now fit. On Friday, all of Puyol, Afellay, Maxwell and Adriano were given medical clearance and are on the list of 20 players that will travel to Sant Sebastian for Saturday’s match at Real Sociedad.

Captain back
Of the quartet, Carles Puyol has been out for longest. He hasn’t played since the final at Wembley last May. Afellay and Maxwell were injured on the US tour and Adriano is back after leaving the pitch injured in the European Supercup in Monaco.

Piqué still out
So the only first team player unavailable for Anoeta is Gerard Piqué, who trained in isolation on Friday. He did recovery exercises in the company of reserve team player Marc Muniesa.

Friday’s session was the last before the second league match of the season, and the first team members were joined by Barça B’s Ivan Balliu and Isaac Cuenca.

Guardiola welcomes back his International players

Barça have welcomed back the 12 players from International duty. With only the absence of Piqué on the pitch, Guardiola began to prepare for Saturday's league match, away at Real Sociedad.

After a week without a large part of the squad, finally, on Wednesday afternoon, Pep Guardiola had them all back. After their commitments with their national teams, the 13 Barça Internationals returned to training: Messi, Mascherano, Alves, Alexis, Abidal, Thiago, Valdes, Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc, Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Villa.

Light session for the Internationals
Players who played for their national sides on Tuesday had a light session, focused on recovery work, while the rest, including the injured players Afellay, Adriano, Puyol, and Maxwell, all worked at one hundred percent to prepare for the game on Saturday against Real Sociedad.

The only player absent on pitch number 2 of the training ground was Gerard Pique, who did some work in the gym to help him recover from his injury.

Six reserve players
The six B Team players who trained with the first team on Tuesday, did the same again this afternoon. They were Oriol Rosell, Gustavo, Gerard Deulofeu, Cuenca, Lobato, and Carmona.
 
Thursday at 10.00

The next first team training session will be on Thursday at 10.00 at the training ground. The session will be closed to the media. Later, Eric Abidal will appear at a press conference.

Guardiola - Montanier, first tame face to face

The Barça and Real Sociedad managers will come face to face for the first time on Saturday at Real Sociedad. Both managers will be looking to win their second consecutive League game.

At 6 o'clock in the evening, and at a ground where FC Barcelona lost 2-1 last season, Pep Guardiola and Philippe Montanier will come up against each other for the first time as managers of their respective teams.

Montanier, a newcomer in the League
Born in Vernon (France), the manager of Real Sociedad recently joined the Spanish League, from the French club Valenciennes. The 46 year old manager had previously managed Boulogne, where he stayed for five seasons.

Arrival and settling in quickly
Montanier’s first game in Spain was pretty successful. His team, from San Sebastian, started their campaign with a trip to Sporting, and the visitors took all 3 points back home. Agirretxe was the author of their 2 goals, and they came away 2-1 winners.

Balance from the internationals

The round of International matches has caused no problems for the Barcelona players.

 

The internationals from Barça will come back to training in perfect condition after the round of international matches. Messi, Mascherano, Sergio, and Abidal are the only ones who played every minute.

Safe and sound. The 15 international players will join in training this Wednesday in perfect condition, and Guardiola will have them all available for the game against Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Besides the fitness of the players, between them they were rested in terms of minutes played. Only 4 international played the full 180 minutes.

Messi, Mascherano, Sergio and Abidal played every minute

Messi and Mascherano played two full games for Argentina, against Venezuela and Nigeria. They’re certain to be the players who have suffered more wear and tear, because to the minutes played one can add the long journeys, seeing as the matches were played in Calcutta and Bangladesh.

Busquets is the only Spanish international player who played two full matches, against Chile and Liechtenstein. Eric Abidal is the fourth international player to have played every minute possible, with the French national side, in the two games against Albania and Romania.

Just behind these 4 comes Alexis Sanchez. The "Wonder Kid" played 150 minutes. He played the entire match against Spain, and 50 minutes against Mexico in the friendly held at Espanyol’s ground.

Del Bosque dosified Barça’s international players
As for the rest of the Spanish internationals, Villa and Iniesta played the whole game against Liechtenstein, and one half of the friendly against Chile.

Xavi Hernandez played a total of 108 minutes. He didn’t play the whole of either game, but he’ll especially remember the second match, against Liechtenstein, where he passed Raul’s international record, now having played in 103 matches, and also celebrated with a great goal from a free kick.

Alves, Keita, Cesc, and Thiago

As for the rest of the internationals, only Alves in the Brazil-Ghana match, and Keita in Mali’s friendly against Cape Verde, played 90 minutes. Cesc Fabregas played 72 minutes spread over the two games against Chile and Liechtenstein, and had enough time to score the two goals that turned the game against Alexis Sanchez’s side. In that game, Pedro played his only 45 minutes, and Thiago made his official international debut on Tuesday, playing 36 minutes. Valdes and Montoya are the players coming back most rested, as they were the only international players who didn’t play a single minute with their national team.

Keita back after playing for Mali and Adriano trains with squad

After a three-day break, the first team returned to training today. Keita is back after playing for his country on Saturday, and Adriano trained normally for the first time since the European Supercup.

There were seven first team players in action on pitch number 2 at the Ciutat Esportiva, namely Pinto, Fontàs, Maxwell, Puyol and Afellay, who also trained last week, and the returning Keita and Adriano.

The international week has again meant Pep Guardiola has worked with limited resources as he prepares for Saturday’s Liga match with Real Sociedad. But he did at least have Keita back, who has completed his duties for Mali.

Adriano trains normally
It was also good to see Adriano training with the group after spending the last few days recovering from an injury to his left femoral biceps. The injured Puyol, Maxwell and Afellay also worked with the squad, but Gerard Piqué stayed in the gym.

Eight from B team
Guardiola also used eight Barça B teams in the session, namely Oier, Masip, Gustavo, Carmona, Gerard Deulofeu, Rosell, Cuenca and Lobato, none of whom played for the reserves in last weekend’s game with Cartagena.

Internationals back on Wednesday
The international players are due back in Barcelona on Wednesday and will be taking part in a training session scheduled for 19.00 at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.

Alexis Sánchez and Dani Alves, who have already completed their international duties, will also be returning on Wednesday after the coaching staff decided to let both players enjoy an extra day of

Facebook FC Barcelona: 20 million fans

The Club has consolidated its world leadership by becoming the first sports club to hit this figure on the biggest social networking site in the world.

Barça’s worldwide support base is growing, and its fans are not just checking news and looking at photos and videos but also expressing their opinions on the official FC Barcelona page on Facebook . FC Barcelona is the first club to have 20 million followers on the biggest social networking site in the world.
Seeking excellence
Last February, FC Barcelona hit ten million fans following the ‘Busquem el 10’ programme led by first team striker Lionel Messi. This initiative involving the best player in the world stressed the club’s sporting excellence in its quest to promote the Barça brand both on the field and on social networks, where the club is not only the leader on Facebook, but also Twitter and Youtube. In seven months, the Club has doubled its following to 20 million, which is more than the population of such countries as Holland, Chile and Angola.
According to Dídac Lee, the director responsible for New Technologies, “this exponential growth is no coincidence, the Barça sentiment is spreading around the world thanks to a large extent to the enormous admiration it is attracting and the way it encompasses values that are so important in sport: teamwork, humility, effort … People should be proud to be Barça fans and social networks are a reflection of the current situation of the club”.
Leaders with three Twitter accounts
At present, there are 3,250,000 followers on the different Twitter channels; and there are 103,200 subscriptions to Youtube. On Twitter, FC Barcelona has benefited from the strategy of using three languages, Catalan, Spanish and English: @fcbarcelona_cat , @fcbarcelona_es and @fcbarcelona .
Not just football on Facebook
Apart from the 20 million Facebook fans of FC Barcelona, there are also 35,605 fans of Regal Barça on the same social network, and people are also signing up for the recently opened pages on the handball, futsal, roller hockey and FC Barcelona B pages.
In addition to these, there are also 152,142 Facebook fans of Barça TV , whose page offers ample coverage of all of the programmes shown on this TV channel.

Cesc finding more goals than ever

Since arriving at Barça, Cesc Fàbregas has been hitting the target more regularly than ever before. Apart from his club goals, he also scored a brace for Spain against Chile on Friday night.

 

It was in the Joan Gamper against Napoli that Cesc first found the net. Since then, he has been one of the most effective players in the squad in terms of goals scored per minute.

Messi provides assists
He didn’t take long to score his first goal for the first team. In Monaco Cesc struck a blinder past Helton to as good as seal the European Supercup title for the side he joined from Arsenal in the summer. Messi laid on a perfect assist and the Catalan didn’t disappoint as the players appeared alongside each other for the first time since playing in the junior ranks at FCB. It was also the Argentinian who laid on Cesc’s first ever goal in la Liga against Villarreal, when he struck home just before the break to stretch his team’s convincing lead.

Goals for Spain too
This Friday in Switzerland, he again demonstrated his goalscoring touch. He scored twice in the friendly with Chile, the first thanks to a wonderful pass from Iniesta to tie the match and he also got his team’s third when he punched on the rebound of a penalty he had taken himself. As luck should have it, the ball landed straight back at his feet and he coolly slotted home.

Change of role
Other than the number on his back, there is not a lot about Cesc to remind us of the man who did so well at Arsenal. At the Emirates, Cesc was the central playmaker for the Gunners, and the out and out strikers were Walcott, Van Persie and Arshavin. But for Barcelona, he is playing a far more offensive role, and with devastating results. Cesc the goalscorer is back!

Pep Guardiola’s four early season untouchables

Valdés, Messi, Mascherano and Abidal have all played every minute of every official game played to date by Barça this season.

A total of 17 players have appeared in FC Barcelona’s two Spanish Supercup, one European Supercup and one Liga match played so far. Four players have played all 360 minutes of these games, goalkeeper Víctor Valdés, defenders Mascherano and Abidal, and striker Leo Messi.

Positive balance
V aldés has kept two clean sheets in the last two games against Porto and Villarreal, but let in a total of four in the two games against Real Madrid. Valdés has enjoyed the support of Mascherano in the centre of defence, where he has been covering for the injured Puyol and Piqué. To his side, the Argentinian has had the tireless Éric Abidal. In attack, Leo Messi has scored in every official game to date, a total of six, three in the Spanish Supercup, one in the European one and two in the league.

Iniesta, Keita and Alves also get time
Andrés Iniesta was also on the way to the same record, but was taken off by Guardiola after 10 minutes of the second half against Villarreal. Keita has also played a big role in the early outings, although he didn’t start against Madrid at the Camp Nou. But despite not playing every minute, there is perhaps no one player who has been singled for as much praise from Pep Guardiola as the Malian.

Dani Alves missed one whole game through suspension, the league outing versus Villarreal. Otherwise, he has played the entirety of every other official game.

Xavi, Pedro and Villa in every game
Finally, Xavi, Pedro and Villa have all appeared in every game to date. The former played the full second match against Madrid and also the one in Monaco, but only played part of the first clash with Madrid and the Liga opener.

Pedro and Villa have started three games each. The Canary Islander was in the first elevens at the Bernabeu, Camp Nou and Monaco, and the Asturian started in all of the three Supercup games but was on the bench for the first game of the Liga campaign.

Barça and the 5 Super Cups

For the first time in Club history, five professional teams compete for the Spanish Super Cup in one season. With football already in the bag, this weekend will be the turn of indoor football and handball.

The fruits of the historic 2010/11 season are still being collected The 16 titles from the previous season mean Barça are playing in the Spanish Super Cup at football, indoor football, handball, basketball and roller hockey. Until now Barça had never been in a position to battle for this title in five different sports in one season.

Football in the bag
The football team, as League Champions, played the Spanish Super Cup in mid August against Real Madrid, Spanish Cup winners. Guardiola's side imposed themselves, after a 2-2 draw in the Bernabeu, and won 3-2 at the Camp Nou. Thanks to this victory, Barça are top of the teams who have won this competition, with ten titles.

Now for indoor football and handball
This weekend, two sections have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the football first team. First, Barça Alusport, League and Cup Champions, make their debut in a Super Cup, in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid). On Saturday at 18.00 they’ll play against El Pozo, from Murcia, in the semifinals. A win will give them a place in the final on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Barca Intersport, current League Champions, will face Athletico Madrid on Sunday at 20.15. The Handball Super Cup will be held in Vista Alegre (Madrid), over just one game.

Basketball and roller hockey, coming up
Later on it will be the turn of the basketball and roller hockey teams. The Super Cup will kick off the season in the ACB. Barça Regal, League and Cup Champions, still don’t know who they’ll play in the semifinals, on 30th of September. The other candidates are Bilbao Vizcaya Basketball (hosts), Madrid, and Caja Laboral. Xavi Pascual’s team have won the last two editions of the tournament.

Finally, Barça Sorli Discau, Cup Champions, will play the Super Cup in December against Tecnol Reus. The first leg will be at the Palau on the 13th of that month and the return leg ten days later, in Reus.

The best start from of the best Messi

Messi’s ceiling gets higher and higher. Leo gets better every day and the start of this season has been no exception. The striker has improved on all his records from other seasons.

Leo Messi has been the Barça reference in the first games of this new season In addition to witnessing and experiencing the celebration of two trophies, the 2 Super Cups, Messi has dramatically improved his scoring numbers with regard to the start of other seasons.

Outdoing himself

In his eighth season in the first team Messi has never achieved these numbers. Six goals in four official games for Messi. Three goals against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, one more in the European Super Cup, a competition which until now he hadn’t scored in, and two more goals on Monday against Villarreal.

Only two years not scoring
Messi didn’t score a goal in the same period in seasons 2005/06 and 2007/08. In the other seasons we had to wait a short while for his goals.

In the 2006/07 season Messi scored just one goal, against Celta, in the first game of the season (Barça won 3-2). In 2008/09, Guardiola’s first in charge, Messi scored 3 in the first four games. One at the Camp Nou, a penalty against Racing (1-1), and two more at Sporting (Barça won 6-1).

A hat trick to start
Last year the best player in the world beat his old numbers. Messi scored four goals in his first 4 games, including a spectacular, and decisive, hat-trick at the Camp Nou against Sevilla in the return leg of the Spanish Super Cup, and another goal in Santander, the first goal for the future League Champions, on the first day of last season.

At the end of the 2010/11 season, Messi had scored 53 goals in official competitions, a stat we should bear in mind towards the end of the current season, considering this spectacular start.

461 million Euros income in 2011/12 Budget

Toni Freixa announced that the Board would submit a budget for the coming year, based on income of €460,1 million and profits of 20,1 million. The board spokesmen also reiterated the Club’s commitment to zero tolerance of violent behaviour.

One of the main points that the Members’ Representatives Assembly will be discussing on September 24th is the proposed budget for the 2011-12 season. The first Board meeting after the summer break approved figures which represented income of 461,1 million Euros and expenditure of 430.2 –a forecast net profit of 20,1 million.

Toni Freixa also announced that the Club’s Economic Vice-President Javier Faus would present the figures to the media at some time over the next few days.

Zero tolerance
On another matter altogether, Sr Freixas made clear the Club’s commitment to zero tolerance of violence, stating: “I would like to publically state our position that fireworks have no place in the stadium. We continue to hold the line of zero tolerance with violence and have not let up on this matter at all. We applaud the measures taken in this respect by the previous Board of Sr Laporta”.

Regarding the possible disciplinary measures to be taken by UEFA as a result of the fireworks set off in Monaco, Sr Freixas explained: “we presented an appeal against this because the security measures taken at a stadium which is not ours, cannot be our responsibility. What’s more, the same thing happened in 2006 and 2009. Such incidents have no place at the Camp Nou”.

Helmets at the Camp Nou
Freixa also clarified the situation with regards motorcycle helmets, after a number of incidents at the stadium on Monday night: “we are sorry that we did not communicate beforehand that for security reasons and in line with local police regulations, helmets will not be permitted in the stadium as they are considered dangerous and can make it difficult to identify wrongdoers. As of the next game at the Camp Nou, helmets will not be allowed in the stadium”.

Finally, the board communicated the fact that the right of members representatives to meet with board members to discuss issues at the Assembly had been extended to 10 days – with meetings set for 15, 16, 19, 21 and 22 September, with a minimum of 25 members.

Goal scoring debuts

Cesc and Alexis both scored on their league debuts on Monday night repeating the feat of Giuly and Eto’o at the start of the 04/05 season and joining players such Villa and Ibrahimovic, who scored in their first games.

 
Repeat of 2004 success
In Frank Rijkaard’s second season at the Club, the same thing happened, with both Ludovic Giuly, signed from Monaco and Samuel Eto’o, brought in from Mallorca in the summer, getting the goals in Barça’s 0-2 win in Santander.

Ibrahimovic and Villa
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa also marked their league debuts with goals, with the Swede getting the third in the 3-0 win over Sporting at the Camp Nou in 2009-10 and David Villa was also on the mark, rounding off the win at Racing last season.

Thiago too

Although he’s scored for the first team before, Thiago Alcántara could also celebrate his first league goal as a full first team squad member with his strike against Villarreal – Guardiola’s team’s third summer addition to get a goal in the first game of the season.

Both of Barça’s summer signings hit the ground running on their league debuts, with Fabregas getting on the scoresheet first and then Alexis getting in on the act.

Improved version of the Champions (5-0)

Barça crushed Villareal with an exhibition of football, and made it clear that this season they’ve come back even hungrier. Three of the four new players, Thiago, Cesc, and Alexis, scored in the game, and Messi scored twice.

Both teams play neat football, but Barça is at a different level. Pressure, intensity, possession, and instinct make all the difference, and this Monday Barça had it all. The 5-0 win against a team in the Champions League just demonstrated the ambition of these players who never have enough. Sanchez and Cesc scored, Messi scored twice, and a sublime Thiago Alcantara got the other.

Audacity from the start
Starting with a 3 man defence of Sergio, Abidal, and Mascherano, Barça made their intentions clear from the start. They wanted to have the ball from the kick-off and were totally successful in their aim. With a midfield full of ball-players, Thiago, Cesc, and Iniesta, and one defensive pivot, Keita, Guardiola's side went for everything from the first minute. They controlled the game, and created the better chances, although at times the final pass went astray.
Thiago, who helped in defense, covering the right hand side, also got forward a lot. Proof of this was the first goal. A fabulous Thiago run high up the field brought the goal. Thiago went alone and, spurred on by the fans, got to the edge of the area, and with a low cross-shot beat Diego Lopez, to make it 1-0, in the 25th minute.

A lethal Fabregas

In his debut in the League with Barça, and at the Camp Nou, Cesc showed all his qualities, from helping out in defence, to getting into the box, without forgetting the combinations with his teammates. From one of these combinations, in the 44th minute, he made it 2-0. Messi, well inside the Villareal half, spotted Cesc’s run, and hit a superb through ball, that Fabregas took in his stride, rounded Diego Lopez, and slid the ball into the net.

Total domination
In the second half the story was the same. Same script, same actors, but 2 of the forwards hadn’t scored yet .The goal to make it 3-0, right at the start of the second half, fell to the Chilean, Alexis Sanchez, making his debut at the Camp Nou, who hit a low drive into the back of the net after a fantastic pass from Thiago. The striker from Tocopilla now knows what it’s like to score in the Camp Nou.

The fourth goal came from the best player in the world. Iniesta hit a brilliant pass into space, and Messi rounded Diego Lopez, to make it 4-0. The goal was Messi’s 100th in the Camp Nou, a truly amazing statistic.

The icing on the cake
Four goals ahead, Barca took their foot off the gas a bit, but not much. Pep took the opportunity to make three changes, and on came Xavi, Villa, and Dos Santos, but there was time to marvel once again with a fifth goal. Again, a superbly timed pass from Thiago, two assists and a goal in the game, reached Messi in the 6 yard box, who slotted the ball past the keeper to make it 5-0, in the 74th minute.

Then, in the last fifteen minutes, Barça stayed faithful to their style of play. Playing one and two touch football they had Villarreal chasing shadows, just like they had over the 90 minutes. A fabulous start to the season against a rival who are playing in the Champions League.

Goals

1-0 Thiago (25')
2-0 Fabregas (44')
3-0 Alexis (47')
4-0 Messi (51')
5-0 Messi (74')

European Super Cup Winners (2-0)

FC Barcelona lifted the European Super Cup for the fourth time in their history with a 2-0 win over Porto. Goals in each half from Messi and Cesc proved enough for Guardiola’s team to take their 12th title under his stewardship.

Barça and Porto lived up to expectations with a quality game in Monaco tonight, with the European Champions taking their second title of the season as they repeated their 2009 success to take the European Super Cup.

The game saw Leo Messi score his first goal in the European Super Cup, which means he’s now scored in every competition, as well as summer signing Cesc Fabregas get his debut goal for the team in just his second appearance.

It’s been a great start to the season so far, with two the first two titles on offer both won as the team set out on what could be another legendary campaign.

Porto pressure
Both teams started well, as Barça worked hard to escape the pressure in midfield from the Porto players, which brought about some uncharacteristic loss of possession, as they found it hard to bring the ball out under control. A Hulk free kick and another effort from Moutinho gave Valdes some early work, whilst at the other end, Pedro missed a great chance as he tried to chip the keeper, only for his attempt to go just over.

Messi makes the most of Porto gaffe
Barça gradually began to impose their passing style on the game though, with Xavi directing play and Iniesta and Messi both looking lively and after a good move down the left involving Villa and Adriano, Xavi fired in a rising shot that Helton just tipped over. A minute later, Barça were ahead when a misplaced back pass set up Messi, who shimmied past the keeper to slot home and send Barça in one up at the break .

Control
The rhythm of the game dropped in the second half and Barça found it easier to combine and lift the Portuguese pressure, though it was Porto who had the best chances early on after the break, with Guarin firing in a fierce shot that Valdes did well to stop. For Barça, Villa saw a chance saved by Helton as both keepers showed their class.

Cesc off the mark
Guardiola made two changes on the hour mark, bringing in Alexis for Villa on the left, whilst in the centre of defence Busquets replaced Abidal, who moved out left instead of the limping Adriano. The team took a while to get used to the shift at the back and Porto nearly took advantage to draw level before order was restored and Barça again took control with a number of dangerous counter attacks.

In one of the breaks, Messi brought about a second yellow for Rolando and his sending off proved a body blow for Porto, with Cesc, who’d just come on, almost immediately getting the second after a sublime assist from Messi. Guarin then left his team with nine men after a bad foul and Barça played out the final minutes before claiming yet another title.

The goals

1-0, Messi (min 38)
2-0, Cesc (min 87)

Leo Messi, player of the year in Europe

The Argentinian, who topped the goalscoring charts in the last edition of the Champions League has beaten Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi to win the award.

53 reporters from different media and countries have decided that Leo Messi was the best player in UEFA club competitions last year, and he thus becomes the first ever winner of the award. The announcement was made shortly after the Champions League draw, with the winner pipping team mate Xavi Hernández and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid to the honour. Iniesta and Piqué came fourth and ninth respectively.

Speaking after collecting the award, Messi said “I want to share this with my colleagues as it is thanks to them that I win these trophies … I am very lucky to have such good players at my side and it is them who give me the opportunity to score so many goals. The merit is everyone’s.” He added that the hunger to win among the Barça squad is one of the reasons for their ongoing success.

Before the winner was announced, Xavi showed his usual generosity when saying that “Messi is the best footballer in the world at the moment”, something he has been saying for years. He also felt that FC Barcelona is experiencing “one of the best moments in its history”.

This is just the latest of many awards to have been won by Leo Messi. He has already won a FIFA World Player (2009) and two Ballons d’Or (2009 and 2010), the last of which was after the two awards were unified. He also been top goalscorer both in Spain and Europe in 2009/10. “I have all my trophies at home, both the individual and team ones” he said.

Milan, Bate and Pilsen in Barça’s group in Champions’ League

Milan, Bate and Pilsen in Barça’s group in Champions’ League

Jordi Clos

Barça will play AC Milan (Italy), Bate Borisov (Byelorussia) and Viktoria Pilsen (Czech Republic) in Group H of the Champions League. They start against the Italian champions at the Camp Nou.

The Italian, Belarusian and Czech champions, namely AC Milan, Bate Borisov and Viktoria Pilsen will share a group with Barça in the Champions League following Thursday’s draw in Monaco. As defending champions, Barcelona were the number one seed.

There was a distinctly Barça related edge to the affair, with captain Carles Puyol presenting UEFA with the Champions League trophy won at Wembley and Leo Messi being named the best player of the last edition, with Xavi also present on the podium.

Debut against Milan at the Camp Nou
Barcelona start at home to Milan on Tuesday September 13. They then travel to play Bate Borisov before entertaining Viktoria. They will start the return games in the Czech Republic, then go to the San Siro and close the group at home to Bate.

One giant and two incognitos
Barça and Milan have met many times before. The two clubs have won eleven European Cups between them (four for Barça and seven for the rossoneri). They have met six times before in official competitions, including the grand final in Athens in 1994, which Milan won 4-0. In contrast, Barça have never played Bate Borisov or Viktoria Pilsen. The Belarusians qualified by beating Austria’s Sturm Graz and the Czechs eliminated FC Copenhagen.

All the groups

A:
Bayern
Vila-real
Manchester City
Napoli

B:
Inter
CSKA Moscow
Lille
Trabzonspor

C:
Manchester United
Benfica
Basel
Otelul Galati

D:
Madrid
O. Lyon
Ajax
Dynamo de Zagreb

E:
Chelsea
Valencia
Bayer Leverkusen
Racing Genk

F:
Arsenal
O. Marseille
Olympiakos
Borussia Dortmund

G:
Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk
Zenit
Apoel N.

H:
Barça
Milan
Bate Borisov
Viktoria Pilsen