Napoli trains at the Ciutat Esportiva
While FC Barcelona’s first team enjoyed a day off from training, their rivals for the Trofeu Joan Gamper match on Monday, Napoli, exercised on Sunday afternoon at the Ciutat Esportiva.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri and his players carried out their final training session before the Gamper match on Monday, training on pitch no. 7 of the Ciutat Esportiva. The team held a gentle session which generated interest from several fans of Napoli, who didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik, and the rest of their team mates.
Before the session, Napoli’s coach stated at a press conference that the Italian team was “pleased” and “proud” to have been invited by FC Barcelona to participate in the 46th edition of the Trofeu Joan Gamper. Mazzarri has moved to align the best possible team for the match, though he himself is not concerned about the outcome of the game. One must imagine the coach is looking ahead to the start of the Serie A season, which begins for Napoli next Sunday at home against Genoa.
Mazzarri was effusive in his praise for Barça, who he sees as favourites for the Champions League as well as La Liga. The manager said that he would like to meet Guardiola in European competition, though he admitted it would not be in his club’s best interest to face Barça, “the best team in the world,” he declared.
Source: fcbarcelona.cat; Images: Álex Caparrós (FCB)
I hope Barca play some first team players, i would like to see Fabregas play.
I really hope to see Thiago and Cesc playing together and both scoring. That would SHUT up all idiots who were saying they will fight neck to neck for a place,
Fabregas will definitely start, probably besides Thiago or Iniesta.
If we don't play with a strong line up we can very well see Cavani, and Levezzi putting a few past us
cavani maybe but lavezzi no. did you not see the copa america? lol
Dani Alves was crap at Copa America too.
yeah, i really hope to see fabregas play!
I hope Fabregas and Thiago start in midfield and it sucks Sanchez is injured for this game,my main concern is that Napoli prove to be a decent team and don't take things too seriously, we don't want any injures!! Visca Barca
OT, Chelsea have bought Mata for 30 mil euros! great signing for Chelsea, although i hate them
I like them now, because they are aboutta pickup both Mata and Modric and will play beautiful football under AvB.
AVB and Mata are the wrong manager and player for Chelsea. They are defensive team, even their strikers play like centre backs and AVB is a manager with flair and Chelsea have absolutely none at all. unless they get 2 good centre mids to add to their signing of Mata then they will still be boring and defensive.
haha calling Chelsea defensive? I wouldn't totally agree.
FB – Ashley Cole?? The guy forgets he has to defend sometimes.
Midfield – Lampard?? The guy scores five times more than torres.
David Luiz – defensive? yeah right….
Ivanovic – also a player who attacks a lot
torres, drogba, anelka, malouda… none of them defensive at all.
it depends on the tactics you know…………
Lampard cant dribble with the ball, neither can any of the other players, i admit Cole is attacking and Luiz hardly ever plays. Torres can do fake shots and cut inside but after doing it twice in a row it gets predictable [Although i think he is a great striker]. Like i said unless they can sign a good centre mid of 2 that can dribble with the ball and find space [Like Iniesta or Silva] then i dont think they have enough threat in attacking to win anything this year.
Defensive isn't the right word. They have absolutely no flair. With Mata and Modric, they will be great. With just Mata alone, they will be a lot better. But right now, they don't have flair at all. Ashley Cole is hardly the all attacking wingback that people assume he is. When was the last time Lampard did something useful besides scoring a penalty? Ivanovic is terrible offensively. David Luiz is a CB, he doesn't add a lot going forward. None of their forwards, including Torres, have good technical quality. Mata, who is just a decent player in Spain, will be looked at as one of the best stars in the EPL, and the best Chelsea player. Standards there are lower, any player with decent quality is huge in England.
I think chelsea have some attacking flair, just not like Barca's. But they attack with grit, and i really like it.
BUT THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CREATIVITY AND NO ATTACKING MIDFIELDER.
Lampard is the biggest joke ever in football…. when a midfielder spends more time running into the box to score than he spends creating goals, then theres definitely a problem.
I honestly do not think Mata will make it at chelsea, its proven that any genius player doesn't make it there… ask Schevchenko, sturridge, and maybe Torres and others… TO SUCCEED AT CHELSEA, You need muscle, not genius….
They're tryna get Modric…
yeah man… agree with you to some point! Manager and the club do not quite go together and Mata at Chelsea!? just do not seem quite right considering the way they play!
I think Mata would of suited Arsenal or Man utd more
Man U dont want him, and nobody wants Arsenal.
As long as they try to play like Porto or even Barca, they will not win CL. Mata would be 4 or 5 striker in Barca!
It's pretty sad that Chelsea only has 3 English players in their starting lineup and the rest are foreigners. Always quick to look outside of England instead of looking for talent within their own country, it doesn't do their NT any good.
What talent ? There is a SERIOUS dearth of talent in that country.
I know that's the point, English clubs made it get to that point where there is no talent. If they pumped their money and effort into their youth system instead of constant buying they could develop talent
The problem is very deep-rooted. In all their youth levels, starting at extremely early ages, technical players aren't given chances, only physical players are. Now, some big first team coaches are asking for changes. But the old fashion British coaches who are in charge of the youth levels want nothing by physicality. It is branded into their minds: power above all. You ask one of the managers of an U-16 club side from England to change his ways, and he will laugh at you. It's the mentality, it won't change for a very long time.
That's also very true indeed, I find it ironic that they prefer physical players over technical yet they go after players like Kun Aguero, Luis Suarez, Torres, Fabregas, David Silva, Mata etc. It's like make up their minds on what type of player they prefer, and physical player are overrated these days.
Kaka to arsenal? Anyone heard about this new?
That'd be CRAZY.
We saw in the World Cup, thats over a year ago, but still. That Kaka still had flashes of brillians in him!
no. sources? but it does make some sense…RM don't need him….and Arsenal needs someone to boost their midfield.
You can believe that Arsen Wenger wd pay Kaka 9 Million / year , i really dont.
WHY is kaka still worth that much is what surprises me. he was an outstanding player, but let's face it, it all comes to an end eventually. he is almost 30, he has had serious injuries, and he has been averaging like 20-25 minutes a game. If madrid decide to sell him, I don't think anyone would be willing to give kaka 9 mil. Not even the teams that can afford it. Except for Anzhi Mahachkala which seems to be wanting everyone lately…
Arsenal would need to bend their wage structure for that though.
Believe me, he will look like a god in England, despite being just a good player here. Just like Aguero, Silva, Yaya, etc. I hate Chelsea, but I am starting to get scared that I might actually start to like them, with Mata, Oriol, David Luiz and especially AvB. Well, maybe not like them, but they will certainly be entertaining to watch, and should play some good football. I think they will evolve this season into the biggest threat to us in the CL. Especially if they also get Bale/Modric and if Torres ever gets his old form back.
That being said, I am sad for La Liga. It seems every single day a star that is not in Barca or Madrid leaves. Villa, Silva, Mata, De Gea, Aguero, Simao, Fabiano, Alves, Capel, and many many more. I really hope that Atletico, Valencia, Villareal and Sevilla can grow and become European powerhouses. La Liga has all the talent, but the EPL has all the money.
Youm mean EPL has all the debt! Not that were going that great at the moment either but I trust Rossel!!!
Modric will probably stay put for one more season, for now, it's probably a 4231 with Mata as the playmaker
Why do you hate Chelsea, they already sacked Mourinho few years ago, right?
Too bad Afellay is injured, it would have been a good game to see his developement. Hope Alexis is fit.
Gonna be a great match between Barça and Napoli. Napoli's really turned it around the last two years and it'll be nice to see a game that won't be a complete cake walk.
OT – Anyone else notice that Cavani might've misplaced his original warm-up shirt?
players are not required to carry their training or match gear. it would require too much brain activity for them.
i hate reading things about real madrid fighting here. please stop it, im not bothered about it at all. let them be stupid assholes and ignore it. all moumou wanted was to get attention with it and take attention away from his fail after two luck-goals. really really hate seeing his face or the one of another madrid hypocrite on the top of this page :/
OMG it totally agree, mou's face actually makes me sick and im so tired of hearing about the crap madrid are saying/doing. We dont have to worry about them mou will wreck there global image and turn they into a small team.
Question… had an argument with my friends and want to hear what you say… who is better, Ronaldinho at his best and Messi now? Also between Juan Roman Riquelme at his best and Zidane?
Well statistically Messi by a long way but if you aren't going by statistics then its just your opinion.
TELL THEM!!!!!!
Messi is the best club player ever… no one comes close, sadly, he the international stage is different.
Zidane was a rock and a very tactical player, but Riquelme's genius is unpararelled. But since football is much more than genius(ask zlatan), Zidane all day long.
You might wanna tell them about eto'o too… tell them that he wins everywhere he goes. And he does not just win, he makes the win at the big stage.
Zidane was definitely better than Riquelme. Messi is uncomparable, he's one of the best players of all time.
are these seroiuus questionS? i swear im not being a asshole but those cant be serious questions?? messi is better than ronaldinho in his prime hands down and messi isnt even in his prime yet! second is where i dont understand how ur even asking that? riquelme or zidane???? ur comparing on of the best midfielders of all time alongside with xavi to riquelme? zidane would smashhhhhhhhhhhhhhh riquelme! lol
the dude must have thought the question was stupid, thats why he said "my friends asked me…"
on a personal level i actually preferred watching Riquleme to zidane, but i realise zidane is the bigger legend and ahead of the riquelme. (but Xavi smashes them both)
and about messi vs ronnie, no competition messi can only be compared to maradona and pele.
Well Messi is more hardworking, clinical and efficient. But if I had to pick on who to watch I would pick Ronaldinho 10 times out 10. He did things that I never expected. He was also one the few players who totally enjoyed playing football. Ever seen him without a smile?? If he was half as dedicated as Messi he may been something else. But if he was as hardworking as Messi than he may never have tried all those tricks on the pitch. No can deny Messi is really good and will go on to smash all records but no one can deny that for the few days Ronaldinho was at his best he was pure Magic.
Messi vs Ronaldinho = Love them both, But i must say Messi. Messi at 24 the best player this club ever have had! Ronaldinho makes it to top 5. Ronaldinho was fun to watch, But my god thats Messi to
Zidane vs Xavi vs Riquelme = Zidane, where a more individuell player than Xavi. Xavi a better teamplayer and the ultimate Barca player, I hate to say it but, i go for Zidane, But its close.
Would have been even more awesome if it were against AS ROMA instead. So we once again get a glimpse of Bojan and Enrique.
Thinking about our squad I am really satisfied. Pep can rotate much more than during previous season and when I see the names…we could easily have two almost different starting line-ups with insane power and quality.
Valdes – Abidal, Pique, Puyol, Alves – Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta – Villa, Messi, Pedro
Valdes – Adriano, Fontas, Mascherano, Alves – Thiago, Fabregas, Keita – Sanchez, Villa, Affelay
..even the second one would smash most of the Primera teams.
Visca el Barca!
I dont mean to be rude but this comes across as if Abidal is right back because most people do their teams right to left.
Are you stupid???Can't you just understand it the way it is???
So if i say… Xavi Iniesta Busi in midfield, you'll tell me Xavi is a defensive midfielder??????
YOU MUST BE KIDDING!!!!!!
I understood it, but i was just stating that some people will think Abidal is playing RB to way it has been written.
i have a feeling tomorrow's game will be great. hoping to see cesc play a full 90 minutes next to thiago. fontas should also play this game cause if we are going to rely on him in the future he is going to need to play against good teams.
Valdes
Alves – Pique – Fontas – Adriano
Thiago – Mascherano – Cesc
Pedro – Messi – Iniesta
we have european cup on saturday so let's hope messi and iniesta get subbed for some well deserved rest.
I should switch Cesc and Thiago. I think Cesc is a better replacement for Xavi than Thiago.
If there is a player who need more playing time in this squad is busquets he was really not fit at RM match so i hope see him playin alongside Cesc and thiago that wd be great
Valdes-Alves -Mash ( Need time to adapt and get more confortable as a CB) – Pique – Adriano
Cesc – Busquets-Thiago
Pedro – Messi – Iniesta ( wish sanchez was fit )
Busi in the field for sure… he needs a game or two to iron his perfomance… he was great in the Supercopa, but by his standards, he's wayyyyy better than what he gave us that day…
Masch in defence for sure…. he needs as many games as he can get to be a master at the defence
On the topic of the game tomorrow, anyone know if Sanchez can play? I know he pulled something during warmups on Wednesday, and as I understand it wasn't too serious. I heard he will be good to go in a week, by tomorrow it will have been 5 days. Can he play? I know he debuted against Madrid, but I think he deserves a proper welcoming game where nothing big is at stake and we can focus on the new/squad players' skills rather than the controversy and intensity.
finally we play a respectable coach again!
I am a Messi fan too but Ronaldhino at his best is the best footballer I have ever seen (Pele and Maradonna included). He certainly had a lot more flair than all of them.
Messi gets by you with quick changes in direction while Ronaldhino embarrass opponents with magical, audacious moves.
Ronnie was also more deadly with his passes (he had a monopoly on those no look passes).
Ronnies free kicks were also devastating, opponents were fearful of giving us free kicks near the 18 yard box when he was playing.
Ronnie was more of a creator and entertainer, I remember defenders standing off him afraid to tackle …he waits for them and then just glide by them anyway.
How many Barca players gets an ovation at the evil empire?
Messi is more direct … I love them both but no one has really stepped up to the level Ronaldhino was on.
Messi scores more and gets past more, but Ronnie does it in more style.
but my friend ronnie cant make killer passes like messi does when drops deep
I think the club should have invited Maradona to this game because he played for both clubs. Show his highlights on the big screen with Barca and Napoli.
The reason I love football so much is because of Ronaldinho………with his smile on his face and unbelievable tricks, He would wtill be my HERO and my favorite players of all time, even if Messi scored 2000 goals and winning 5 champions league……..