FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich, titans of arguably the two strongest footballing nations, face off Tuesday in the first step to determine who will then face one of those other titans in the Champions League final at Wembley on May 25.

Bayern will host the first leg at the Allianz Arena, a stadium that saw Barcelona win 0-2 in a preseason tournament in 2011 and draw 1-1 to get through to the semi-finals of the Champions League during the storied 08/09 treble.

But those were different times.

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SV Hamburger captain and Dutch international Rafael Van der Vaart (30) recently told German magazine Sport Bild that Bayern Munich “has no options” against Champions League semi-final rivals FC Barcelona.

“One player separates Bayern from Barcelona: Lionel Messi,” Van der Vaart said. The Dutch striker knows Pep Guardiola’s Barça well thanks to the two seasons he spent at Real Madrid from 2008-2010.

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It’s been a long winter and things could not be going better for FC Barcelona. As spring begins to rear its pretty little head, hibernating creatures emerge from their long slumbers, ready to get back on the road to Wembley. The winter posed many questions for the often-favored blaugrana, whom fought and stuttered several times against tough opponents Real Madrid and AC Milan. And although a shot at the Copa Del Rey will have to wait until next year, fans of the Catalan crusaders have mounds to be excited over.

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FC Barcelona goalkeeper and Spanish international Victor Valdés won his fifth consecutive Zamora Trophy Monday at the Gala de Fútbol, hosted by Madrid sports daily, Marca.

The Barcelona number ‘1’ earned the award after another season being the least beaten goalkeeper in the Spanish top division.

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The Appeals Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) denied FC Barcelona’s attempt to appeal the four-match sanction against Spanish international and FC Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdés Friday following his expulsion after the most recent El Clásico against Real Madrid CF.

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FC Barcelona finds itself in arguably the Champions League Round of 16’s most intriguing fixture against AC Milan. One of the most storied sides in European football, Milan will try to capitalize on recent form, fresh faces, and home field advantage Wednesday in one of the sport’s great cathedrals—the San Siro.

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FC Barcelona forward Isaac Cuenca (21) completed a loan move to Ajax on Thursday that will see the La Masia youth at the Dutch club until June 30. The left winger had only recently received his medical clearance after an injury that saw him sidelined for eight months.

Jordi Roura helped to inform Tito Vilanova, who remains in New York City, throughout the operation on the final day of the January transfer window, which was primarily carried out through FC Barcelona Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta, Director of Football Raúl Sanllehí, and Ajax Sporting Director Marc Overmars, who wore the blaugrana colors from 2000-2004.

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When Queen Maria I of Portugal first came to power in 1777, her first act resulted in the dismissal of the Secretary of State. Within a decade and a half, she was unfit to rule and “Maria the Mad,” as she had become known in Brazil, was declared mentally insane. Francis Willis, the English physician who treated King George III after he lost the American colonies, wanted to bring Maria to England in the interest of her health and well-being, but was ultimately blocked to keep her on the Iberian Peninsula. The ill-fated ruler spent the remainder of her life in perpetual unhappiness, her wails and screams echoing throughout the corridors of the handful of esteemed palaces she would occupy until her death.

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What we learned against Málaga:

Having suffered a convincing 1-3 trouncing at the Rosaleda at the weekend, it’s a safe bet coach Manuel Pellegrini will do some reshuffling for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou. Aside from placing José Pinto in between the sticks, Barcelona will probably have a slightly different approach in terms of personnel. But what can the Culés around the world and especially Tito, Lionel and company take away from Sunday’s encounter?

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Happy New Year and welcome back to the Copa del Rey! FC Barcelona continues its domestic cup campaign on Thursday against Segunda División side Córdoba CF at the Camp Nou. The first leg in Andalucía saw the Catalan title holders slide two past keeper Mikel Saizar courtesy of a record-devouring Lionel Messi. With a few key players being rested and coach Tito Vilanova in the United States seeking a second opinion on his unfortunate medical condition, should we expect assistant Jordi Roura to gamble on the youngsters or field as strong a lineup as possible?

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With the startling news that FC Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova will be out of action for at least six weeks as he battles a tumor relapse, the directives at the club decided late Wednesday that, like Vilanova post Guardiola, assistant coach Jordi Roura and his staff will be the ones to shoulder the load as Vilanova undergoes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. While all of us at totalBarça are deeply saddened by this news, we understand the obligation to our readers to answer the question, “Who exactly is Jordi Roura and what qualities can he bring to the table?”

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FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell and Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta held a press conference in the Sala Paris at the Ciutat Esportiva early Wednesday evening to discuss the situation with Manager Tito Vilanova’s cancer relapse and the announcement to assign Assistant Coach Jordi Roura as interim head coach in Vilanova’s absence. The following are quotes translated by totalBarça’s Maria Inés and Roberto Curtis as reported by @OpinionCule.

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The tension and glory of the first half of the UEFA Champions League season come to a head tomorrow for the gladiators of Group G. FC Barcelona sits in prime position for the next round while SL Benfica will battle for a result that will see the 32-time Portuguese champion continue into the knockout stages or parachute into the Europa League.

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In a special five part series, totalBarça will feature each of the FC Barcelona nominees from the 23-man shortlist for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or. Over the next week, a different contributor will present a nominee and argue for why he should win this year’s prestigious award before the announcement of the final three contenders on November 29th. In the last edition, Alexandra looked at the many wonders of Andrés Iniesta. Today, Roberto Curtis will make a case for the “greatest player who has ever lived”, Lionel Messi.

No, he didn’t win La Liga and he ended up crashing out of the Champions League in the semi-finals. His home country was ineligible for the Euro Cup and did little more to compete internationally than continue its World Cup qualifying campaign.

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Casual and die-hard FC Barcelona fans alike have a rare opportunity to see the brightest talents La Masia has to offer when the blaugrana host Deportivo Alavés Wednesday evening in the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 32. Having already qualified for the next round of the Champions League and flaunting a comfortable 3-0 lead in the tie with Alavés, Tito Vilanova will likely field a team of hungry upstarts seeking to prove themselves to the first team coach as well as the Camp Nou faithful.

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FC Barcelona central defender and Spanish international Gerard Piqué spoke recently to El Mundo Deportivo and Sport regarding his injury, his team’s problems in defense, what it’s like to play with Lionel Messi, and the importance of La Masia in the never-ending battle with Real Madrid. He even managed to comment on the fertility of his teammates.

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Tito Vilanova takes his FC Barcelona squad into the Copa del Rey Tuesday for the first time as team manager against Deportivo Alavés SAD. This round of 32 fixture promises to allow plenty of peripheral blaugrana to make an impact in front of Vilanova and the crowd at the 19,900-capacity Mendizorroza stadium in the city of Vitoria.

Both the first and last trophies of the Guardiola era, the Copa del Rey has eluded the club’s grasp all but twice in the last decade. And while Barcelona remains the most successful club in the competition’s history with 26 titles, the inclusion of hungry second and third division clubs and the inherent trickiness of home and away fixtures can make winning this tournament quite a task for any team.

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FC Barcelona faced SL Benfica twice in the past at its fortress Estádio da Luz during the UEFA Champions League. On December 9, 1991, Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team played out a 0-0 draw at the stadium. In the 2005-06 season, Frank Rijkaard’s team came away with a goal-less draw as well. Victories at the Camp Nou saw FC Barcelona advance on each occasion. Nevertheless, Tito Vilanova’s Champions League group-stage opponent boasts plenty of ability and enough talent to end the debutante coach’s seven-game winning streak.

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I bet many of you were wondering why it has taken Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho so long to make headlines for something other than getting results. Spanish and Catalan media watched with bated breath during the Spanish Supercup for any sort of sequel to the eye-poking action that typified the Real Madrid-FC Barcelona rivalry of last season. Yet, somehow, the lead-up to the first leg was met with atypical composure and respect from the Portuguese coach.

And for only the third time at the helm of Los Blancos, Mourinho came away with a trophy at the expense of Barcelona. I bet you were also wondering if he had turned over a new leaf, allowing his ranting and off-stage presence to take a back seat to professionalism and churning out results.

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We recently came upon the creative designs of Hyperakt, a New York-based firm that in addition to being a design agency,  specializes in generating the sports-based creative prints known as The Champions Ring. It was the FC Barcelona winning Champions Rings that caught our eye: 2010/11 Champions League, 2008/09 Champions League, 2005/06 Champions League.  Here is also Spain’s 2012 Euro Cup, 2010 World Cup, and 2008 Euro Cup for good measure. Deroy Peraza, founder and creator of both Hyperakt and The Champions Ring, is a die hard Barça fan and has lived in Barcelona.  He met with totalBarça team member, Roberto Curtis, in Brooklyn, USA to give us an exclusive interview on his thoughts on Barça and how it all started for The Champions Ring. Continue reading »

FC Barcelona has a finger on its first title of the season, the Supercopa de España, a title the team has lifted more than any other club—a stunning ten times (Real Madrid has managed 8). Both clubs sit pretty with a streak of three consecutive Copas under their belts in the past, but Barcelona could make it an unprecedented four with a victory or a draw Wednesday at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

The uncomfortable defeat sustained by Jose Mourinho’s men last week puts them very far from out of the competition. An impressive two away goals means a fast break and 90 minutes of sitting ugly will allow him to lift the trophy for the first time in his silver-studded career. Tito Vilanova, however, certainly has other ideas and plenty of tactical options to keep the Portuguese from getting smug at such an early stage of the season.

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Messi versus Ronaldo. Tito versus Mourinho. Cantera versus cartera. Champion versus champion.

A spectacle as mouth watering as El Clásico seems to be something so special, so profoundly perfect in its inherent excitement that it would seem an illusion to occur more than once in a blue moon.

But here we are. Cules, Madridistas. Chewing our finger nails to nubs. After 250 titanic encounters, the electricity remains. Continue reading »

Although typically taking place  before the start of the season, the Trofeu Joan Gamper’s 2012 edition will feature an FC Barcelona side fresh off an emphatic 5-1 La Liga debut over Real Sociedad barely 24 hours after the final whistle.

For the third time in as many years, the one-off match will feature an Italian opponent (AC Milan 2010, Napoli 2011), this time in the form of Sampdoria, the team over which Johan Cruyff led Barcelona to its first ever European title to back in 1992. Twenty years later, Tito Vilanova’s Barça is fresh off a pretty decent preseason that saw the likes of a Lionel Messi hat trick against Raja Athletic and some fine penalty shootout saves from Jose Manuel Pinto, who should start in net today.

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Plenty has changed since the 2011 Champions League Final clash between Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona and Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. Both created sensational ripples in their fan bases with purchases of high quality players and promotions of true-blooded academy cadets. Both took part in a friendly in August 2011, with Ferguson’s men narrowly grabbing the win in a hot and sticky American summer afternoon. Both teams put up valiant fights throughout the last two seasons, attaining a significant amount of glory and silverware. Both teams stumbled off their continental perches to see their league crowns narrowly swiped from under their noses by cunning adversaries. But many will agree that these are still the two best teams in club football today.

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Barcelona-based orthropaedic surgeon Dr. Ramon Cugat spoke to Catalan radio station Ona FM on the recovery of Ibrahim Afellay, Andreu Fontàs, and David Villa, whom all appear to be well on their way to full match fitness.

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FC Barcelona announced Wednesday its first all-European preseason tour since 2003. While details have yet to be finalized, the club announced the possibility of four-to-five games being held in Spain and around the continent.

According to the club, the decision to stay local this upcoming summer revolves around the added strain the Olympics and European Championships will have on the blaugrana. Barcelona could lose more than a dozen players to both competitions, and should Spain progress to the finals of the Euros, a great chunk of Pep Guardiola’s squad will have its vacation time greatly reduced.

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In a game that ended with only one blaugrana on the pitch not from La Masia (Alexis Sánchez), Barcelona excelled in demonstrating yet again how brilliantly and effectively its footballing philosophy can carry it. Pep Guardiola’s side stylishly cut the deficit with Real Madrid to one, albeit with a game in hand.

With a brace from Alexis and two more goals from Pedro and Lionel Messi, Barcelona exercised its best passing game against Getafe at the Camp Nou, maintaining a solid 73 percent possession, effectively avenging the 1-0 loss at the Alfonso Pérez in Madrid back in November.

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On the same day FC Barcelona progressed to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the expense of a prolific AC Milan side, a former Barcelona and Inter Milan player announced his protracted legal battle with the Spanish giants would come to rest.

Former Barcelona forward and Cameroonian international Samuel Eto’o (31) announced Tuesday he would no longer seek legal recompense from his former club over his 2009 transfer to Inter Milan, according to an FC Barcelona statement.

“FC Barcelona would like to publicly thank Samuel Eto’o, one of the great players of our era, for his willingness to resolve this dispute,” the club said in a statement. Continue reading »

Having rested a few players during the weekend clash with Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona looks fresh and willing to avenge the 2-2 draw sustained the last time AC Milan visited the Camp Nou in September. While the most recent goalless draw at the San Siro means the ball is comfortably in Barça’s court, scoring at the Camp Nou does not seem to be a problem for the Italians this season.

Although Milan can go through with a tie, it remains to be seen how tough a time Massimiliano Allegri’s men will have containing the high-pressing possession game of Pep Guardiola’s Catalans.

“We may dominate but you can never be sure because in any moment they can strike back,” Barcelona forward and Spanish international Pedro Rodriguez (24) said in a press conference Tuesday. Continue reading »

FC Barcelona defender and Brazilian international Daniel Alves (28) spoke recently with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia on his respect for Lionel Messi and Josep Guardiola. As well as discussing his flexibility as a defender and attacker, Alves gave insight on celebrity parenting, balancing a personal life, and having enough rhythm to possibly cut an album someday.

The following is a translation. The original can be found here.

Dani Alves is meeting with La Vanguardia at his agent’s office in Sant Just Desvern [Catalunya]. There they have his trophies and countless jerseys he has worn. But he insists they are only decoration. What stays with him are not the empty trophies, as he refers to them, but the values they represent.

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