It was a rather good display by Barcelona last night even though, in the rain-soaked pitch, they only managed to score one goal. Pep Guardiola even admitted that it was one of the best matches he had seen from his players this new year.
Barcelona’s goal again came from the golden touch of the history-making ‘Six-competitions goal-scorer’ Pedro Rodriguez (min. 29) – his fifteenth this season.
As always we compiled the first reactions from the top 4 Spanish sports newspaper to last night’s match. Read more »
Serie A club Fiorentina has announced on its official website that they are negotiating with FC Barcelona over a move for their Brazilian striker Keirrison de Souza on a two season loan deal.
Florentina said the deal also includes a clause which would allow them make the transfer permanent after the loan deal expires. The negotiations will be formalized pending a medical test that will be carried out on Monday.
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“We wouldn’t be where we are this season without Puyol. He’s the player who’s performed most often and he’s solving a lot of problems.”
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola praises skipper Carles Puyol at the post match press conference on Saturday.
Several players were voicing their opinions at the post-match press conference and heres what they had to say:
Rafa Marquez
“we did the job. I’m happy with how I played and my performance in general. I want to continue like this and I know I have to make the most of the chances the boss gives me”.
“it was a tough game, because the pitch was in a bit of a state. We had plenty of chances in the first half, but weren’t able to put them away and then in the second we had to withstand their onslaught. The team continue in good form and playing the way the boss wants us to”.
Finally, Marquez refused to be drawn on the fight at the top with Madrid, insisting: “we have to focus on our work and then see what happens!.
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FC Barcelona captain Carles Puyol will miss the La Liga match against Getafe next weekend, 6 February at the Camp Nou after he received another yellow card last night, his fifth in the league this season, and according to Spanish Football Federation, RFEF’s rule, he is to be suspended for one league match.
His absence will not be overly disruptive to Guardiola’s preparation however, as Dani Alves is expected to be back in his right-back position after being rested for last night’s match because of a right-calf pulled muscle. As for central defense , the choice is abundant with Chygrinskiy, Marquez and Milito likely to be paired with mainstay centre-back Gerard Pique.
The player had picked up his four other cautions in the La Liga matches against:
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Other than talk about the match against Sporting Gijon in the La Liga post-match press conference last night, the FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola also touched on his team’s set-up.
“It is normal that we will eventually suffer towards the end of a match if we fail to kill it early. The pitch is very bad but despite that, we played a very good game of football.”
“We created a lot of opportunities but failed to convert them, but I’m happy with the team’s attitude and disposition.”
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Jan31
“INVICTUS” (Unbeatable)
Sporting 0 – 1 Barça
Pedro’s ‘golazo’ (great goal) won the team a victory which deserved to be by a bigger margin.
Barça, which is still undefeated, had 8 ‘canteranos’ in the starting line-up.
[Non Barça Related]
Espanyol 1 – 0 Athletic. Three golden points that move Espanyol away from the danger zone
Depor 1 – 3 Madrid. Madrid bears blaugrana’s pressure and breaks its Riazor’s curse.
Jan31
SUPER PEDRO
Barça won in Gijón with another goal from the ‘canterano’.
Sporting 0 – 1 Barça
New record: 20 matches without defeat in la Liga.
Pedrito, who started instead of Henry, has scored 15 goals so far this season and last night was decisive again for the blaugrana’s victory. They are still unbeatable.
In the Pic: Pedro and Messi hugged after scoring the goal which would give the three points to the blaugranas. The goal was the result of a quick freekick in minute 29.
[Non Barça Related]
Deportivo 1 – 3 Madrid. Madrid broke his Riazor’s losing strike.
Espanyol 1 – 0 Athletic. Luís García gave the victory.
British sports tabloid, Daily Mail has linked FC Barcelona forward and France international striker Thierry Henry (32) with a return to the premier league with Manchester City looking to sign him up.
It seems Henry’s future at Barcelona looks to be drawing to a close, with the European champions apparently deciding on Valencia’s David Silva or Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery as their main options for the left-sided attacking role.
Henry’s injury-blighted season has seen him score just twice in 13 games and the club would be willing to sell him this summer, one year before his contract expires.
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Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, speaking at the post-match press conference, said he was satisfied with his sides victory against Sporting but added they were lacking in the final third.
“It was a good win considering very few teams have won on this ground. It (the win) carries a lot of merit.”
“Defensively we were good as Sporting have created very few opportunities but offensively we we were lacking in the final third.”
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Valdes : The Catalan shot stopper made a couple of saves from Bilic in the first half. Quick to react whenever he was called into action and made no mistakes on the night. Had a very quiet 90 minutes as Sporting failed to threaten to score and will be glad to have picked up his fourth clean sheet in a row. – 6.5
Puyol : In the absence of the Dani Alves , El Capitan slotted in at right back against the hosts and did a good job defensively, a perfect sliding tackle to dispossess Sporting forward Bilic, who was through on goal, stands out. Got forward quite often as the game opened up in the latter stages. A good stand in performance by the veteran. – 7
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Yup. The subject is being brought up yet again. This time it’s your turn to do the debating, state the facts, and argue your points. The question is: Who should be the left-winger for next season?
In this EXCLUSIVE totalBarça article you’ll find:
- a list of over 40 possible candidates for the left-wing position that have been linked to FC Barcelona
- a link to the players profiles on Wikipedia
- a video showcasing their talents and skills
- a poll of the top-10 realistic candidates
- a place to discuss and share your thoughts and ideas about this issue
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Sporting de Gijon vs FC Barcelona
(Saturday January 30, 2010 @ 20:00 Barcelona time – Convert to local time)
Chat Link: http://fcbarcelona.hopto.org/
Facebook Application: http://apps.facebook.com/fcbarcelonachat/ (direct chat through Facebook)
Have you ever sat in front of your TV or computer while you were watching a FC Barcelona game and hoped you could share your excitement, feelings, and opinions with other fans LIVE as it happens?
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Back in May of 2009, FC Barcelona enjoyed two historic matches: the 6-2 victory against Real madrid and the 1-1 tie against Chelsea, where the last minute goal by Andrés Iniesta carried the team through to the Champions League final. Recently, Barcelona based Com Ràdio released the results of a study among various hospitals and clinics that showed a 45% increase in the birthrate nine months later (read here). When asked about this mini “Baby Boom”, Guardiola joked “Its a surprising fact. But I insist, its Iniesta’s who should be blamed”.
Josep Guardiola knows it won’t be easy to win three points at El Molinón. He has noted how strong Sporting are at home, where they have won 18 of their 24 points.
Speaking to the press after training on Friday at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, Guardiola pointed out that “El Molinón is a very difficult ground this season. Sporting are very strong at home and of the 24 points they have, they got 18 on their home ground, where the have only let in six goals. Those figures say it all.”
El Molinón the only concern
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Barcelona Atletic player Victor Vazquez (22) has been through a rather difficult period offlate. Catalan sports paper Sport reports that Vazquez arrived late for training with Barca Atletic last Wednesday, due to oversleeping. Barca Atletic coach, Luis Enrique, decided to fine Vazquez by suspending him from the team for a week. Vazquez tried to return to training next day but Luis Enrique said he dosen’t want him with the group until Monday.
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American actor Viggo Mortensen was in Venice several months ago for the premier of his latest film, The Road. According to an article in the Spanish newspaper El País, Mortensen turned a lot of heads, when he appeared in the lobby of the Hotel Excelsior for a press conference; he was dressed in the blue and white jersey of the Argentinean national team, with the name “Messi” on his back. At that time, in September, 2009, Argentina and Lionel Messi still had two World Cup Qualifiers left to play, the last being the decisive match in which Argentina defeated Uruguay 1-0 to confirm their place in the World Cup.
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