FC Barcelona’s first team trained this Saturday in what was the penultimate session before Valladolid’s visit to the Camp Nou on Sunday (21:00). There was positive news coming from the session as Mascherano and Valdés have both been cleared to play by Barça’s medical team. Mascherano has recovered from a torn ligament in his right knee picked up on April 2nd in the match against Paris Saint-Germain in France. Valdés has been struggling with plantar fasciitis in his left foot for the past few weeks. Both players trained today with the group.

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 THE TENTH…IS FOR ATLÉTI

Real Madrid 1-2 Atlético Madrid 

Atlético left Real trophy-less after a typically hard fought final, and broke the 14 year old jinx

Dismal show from Mourinho, sent off; Ronaldo, sore loser, got a straight red for a premeditated attack on Gabi

War for Neymar

Barcelona counts on the wish of Neymar, which is to play with Messi

Money is the argument of Florentino, and Santos value the Real offer as twice as much

Yesterday, May 16, FC Barcelona were honored by FIFA with the “Medical Center of Excellence” status. This recognition is given to institutions that portray a mission “of which is to use medical knowledge and experience to improve the care and medical treatment of footballers of all categories“. This is in actuality quite a prestigious award for the club. Before yesterday’s official announcement, only 33 other such centers of excellence existed globally, and the majority were university medical centers or private medical practices. FC Barcelona are in fact the first ever football club to be donned with such an illustrious title and are also now the only medical center in Spain with this accreditation. More after the jump.

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Sky Sports football pundit Gary Neville interviewed former teammate David Beckham this week on the details of his recent decision to retire from the sport. Beckham singled out Barcelona star Lionel Messi as the culprit:

Neville: “When did that moment come, when did it hit you [that it was time to retire]?”

Beckham: “I probably knew when Messi was running past me in the home game, but I’m privileged to have won the trophies I have won.”

Words: SkySports • Image: Kevork Djansezian [Getty]

FC Barcelona’s preparations continue for Sunday’s league match against Valladolid at the Camp Nou. The team held a training session this Thursday morning at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in which goalkeeper Víctor Valdés began to work on the pitch with his fellow keepers. Valdés continues to recover from plantar fasciitis and a calf strain in his left leg that have prevented him from taking any part in the last two league matches.

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 THIAGO ON THE MARKET

The priority is that he stays, but if offers arrive, they will be heard

Guardiola’s Bayern is tracking the young, Barça product

Confirmed: Messi, out for 2-3 weeks

FC Barcelona player Jordi Alba, speaking during the presentation ceremony of his youth training campus, said that despite winning the main objective, the La Liga title, the team still wants to do something important this spring. “We have three games left and we’ll try to win them. We want to equal Madrid’s record and win 100 points,” he declared. Asked about plans for next season and his opinion about upcoming signings, Alba noted that “the coaching staff and the board of directors will strengthen the team where they see fit. I think the team is great, we have a bright future, and I hope we win more titles next season.” When asked specifically about the possibility of Neymar joining the blaugrana, he said, “I don’t know if he’ll come or not. He’s a great player and he’s proving that he’s a different kind of footballer.”

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It has been a rather difficult season for FC Barcelona. The illness of Tito Vilanova and the injuries suffered by many key players have made the season more or less a battle for survival, even though the Liga title has already been secured. We all know that some things can’t be controlled, such as Tito’s unfortunate illness, but could we have done something differently to prevent the injury problems we’ve faced this season? Could we have learned more from the previous seasons when the same problems occurred, though to a smaller extent?

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FC Barcelona’s official site announced today that Messi has a strained right hamstring and will be out for two to three weeks. The Argentine forward limped off the field against Atlético Madrid on Sunday which cut short his first Liga start since March. Messi has been fighting a recurring injury since the away leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals, playing portions of several games since then despite not being fully fit, which has likely exacerbated the injury. He could be available for the team’s final game against Málaga, but it would probably be best for all involved if Messi rested for the rest of the season.

Image: Miguel Ruiz (FCB)

 CHAOS

The squad of Barça fully celebrated la Liga in a street parade

Thousands and thousands of followers filled the streets of Barcelona

Messi will not play the rest of the season

Deulofeu renews until 2017

 BARÇAMANIA!

More than half a million fans, with the team

Victory parade of champions – The supporters celebrated the title which Barça offered to the city

The league of Tito, Messi and Abidal – The champions received the affection they deserved due to their football

Deulofeu signs until 2017

 CORRIDOR AND PARTY

Homage to Champions Barça

1-2 Triumph with Messi injury

Comeback to celebrate the title, but Leo tears his thigh muscle

Today, street parade through the city

The bus route starts at 18.30 by the World Trade Center

 PASSAGE OF CHAMPIONS

Atlético 1-2 Barcelona

Barça come back with goals from Alexis and Gabi (own goal) and Messi gets injured again

The team hopes to equal the record of 100 points

The happiness of the dressing room is unleashed on twitter

FC Barcelona took to the Vicente Calderon field surrounded by the Atlético Madrid guard of honor, with friendly greetings and congratulations between the two sets of players. As the new champions of Spain, the blaugrana went into the game with nothing but pride forcing them to go for the victory, which they did in one of the most testing games of the season.

Although this season’s La Liga title seems like a small achievement to many football fans around the world, that is only due to the extremely high standards that Barça has set throughout the last five years, and the high expectations from their ruthless displays early in the season. However, the fact still remains that they have won this trophy because of an amazing showing in the domestic league, with the only slump happening later on in the season because of many unfortunate events at the club.

A league title is won by the best team, so imagine a team winning it with our point difference, and a possible 100 points collected, to equal last year’s Real Madrid record.

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FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi left the pitch owing to a right leg injury during Sunday’s match against Atlético Madrid. The Argentine forward exited the match in the 67th minute upon noticing his muscle problem and after all three substitutions had already been made. The player will undergo further medical tests Monday to determine the extent of the injury. Speaking at a press conference after the match, coach Tito Vilanova explained, “he [Messi] felt well but, as is often the case with muscular injuries, the discomfort returned suddenly.” Continue reading »

RESULT:

Atlético Madrid: 1

FC Barcelona: 2

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CHAMPIONS!

Barça conquer La Liga of Tito and Messi after having a magnificient season, leading from beginning to end

This is league title no.22 for Barcelona, which will mean getting a corridor of applause from Atlético in Calderón

1-1 Espanyol draw against Madrid, meaning Barcelona win with four games left over

FC Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova addressed the press on Saturday ahead of this weekend’s Liga match in Madrid against third placed Atlético. Vilanova spent most of his time validating the squad’s imminent Liga title: “This league means a lot. We’ll have beaten the best Madrid ever, the one that got 100 points. I know [Atlético] will want to beat us. It’s always an added motivation to be playing Barça. Atlético have the cup final to think about, but they have a big enough squad to be able to cope well enough with this match too. They’ve only let in ten goals at home and are having an excellent season.”

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The other Madrid went ahead and smashed Málaga Wednesday evening so any ideas of an especially early La Liga party for FC Barcelona were put to bed. Still Barça are eight points clear of Real Madrid, with a game in hand, ahead of either one playing this weekend with four match-days remaining. Mou’s men travel to Barcelona to face Espanyol and dependent on the result there, a fiesta may break out. A victory for Tito Vilanova’s men Sunday against Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid will clinch FC Barcelona’s 22nd La Liga title and hand Tito his first cup as head boss, irrespective of Real Madrid. Yet, while trips to the Vicente Calderón, or any match against Atlético for that matter, are routine visits for Real Madrid, historically this fixture has in general been arduous for Barcelona. Though from a purely footballing standpoint this matchup is usually a proper spectacle with a high tempo, defensive lapses and normally plenty of goals. Atlético have locked the 3rd place spot so in that sense have nothing much to play for, though this Diego Simeone has their manager’s fight to the end spirit. What could potentially play beneficially into Barça’s hands is the Copa del Rey final on Friday May 17th where the Madrid sides square off and provides the only opportunity for Atlético to pick up silverware this season.

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 MOU FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

To Pepe – He is frustrated because Varane, a 20 year old, has ousted him

To Iker – While I am Madrid boss, I’ll play Diego López. I like him better

To Iniesta – He should worry about his own club because without Messi nothing happens

Barça Champions? Força Pellegrini

Barça could be champions today if Madrid fail to win

Untouchable – The club will not listen to offers for Piqué, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi