Pep Guardiola held a conference this past Thursday, attended by nearly 4,000 people at the Gran Rex Theatre in Buenos Aires. Along with Guardiola, his friend and Barça’s former External Relationship Manager, Manel Estiarte, also gave a small talk on leadership and motivation.
I had the joy and pleasure of attending this conference, mostly thanks to Consultora Med, part of the organization committee that brought Pep to Argentina.
As a follow-up to US-based reporting program 60 Minutes and its unique coverage on FC Barcelona on Sunday, January 6, it also ran an exclusive segment on Lionel Messi on the debut of its sports contingent called 60 Minutes Sports. The feature was broadcasted on US specialty network Showtime on Wednesday, January 9.
International friendlies are scheduled this midweek before the start of the new La Liga season, and 11 Barça players will be fulfilling their national team duties.
In an interview published in the magazine of the AFA, Argentina’s Footballing Association, out today, Lionel Messi said he is convinced that someday he will be able to lift the World Cup with the albiceleste.
“My ambition? It’s to be the World Champion and win the Copa America. That’s what is missing and I am convinced I’ll achieve it.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fr1Q3MHWw
Catalan sports daily Sport reported on comments that Jorge Messi, father of FC Barcelona and Argentine international forward Lionel (24), made to ‘Radio 10.’ What follows in a translation of the article. The original can be found here.
Argentina captain and FC Barcelona midfielder, Javier Mascherano, has once again reiterated that his national team must stop focusing their attentions on trying to imitate his club side, and try to find their own footballing identity.
Speaking after the Albiceleste beat Albania 4-0 on Monday, Mascherano told the press that the side would be better off playing their own brand of football than always seeking to compare themselves to the Catalan champions. “We always say the same thing, I think it’s a mistake to compare or want to look like Barcelona. We have to play like Argentina, according to the players we have and with our own technical ideas.”
FC Barcelona and Argentine international forward Lionel Messi (23) spoke with writer Jorge Lopéz of Catalán sports daily Sport. The following is a translation of the interview. The original can be found here.
Lionel Messi is going to have a particularly challenging summer. His holidays officially started yesterday, but in a few days’ time he must join his Argentinean teammates to begin their preparation for the 2011 Copa America. Held in Argentina, his countrymen will be expecting the best of him to help the team lift the cup. Yet another challenge for him this season.
With a fair number of US readers of totalBarça having gone to the USA vs Argentina friendly – including our very own Faisal Rakun with a recap of his special experience here – we are pleased to share with everyone more readers’ experiences. We hope you enjoy more imagery of the game after the jump!
Catalan sports daily Sport sat down with FC Barcelona and Argentine International forward Lionel Messi (23) to ask him some questions before Argentina faces Spanish in an international friendly on September 7th. Read the translation after the jump. The original article can be found here.
According to Catalan sport daily Sport, Argentina has released FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (23) from any obligation to play in the August 11th friendly against Ireland.
One of the final images from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa of FC Barcelona and Argentine International forward Lionel Messi (23) was that of his forlorn expression as coach Diego Maradona embraced him, following Argentina’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of Germany. Until that fateful quarterfinal match, Messi had been one of the highlights of his team, which had gone undefeated up to that point, and he had done everything except score. However, time passes, and Argentinean news daily Olé presented a report on how, once again, Leo Messi has lit up a football match with his joy.
According to a report in Argentinean sports daily Olé, the players of la selección, including FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (23), received an unexpected welcome as they returned home, following the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Germany.
In a highly anticipated quarter-final match, Argentina squared off against the Germans. Fresh from a perfect record in the group and knock-off stage, the Argentinians were very confident before the match. The Germans, however, were wary and tried to do their best to take pressure off themselves. Löw’s team hoped that their consistency and precision would take them through, just like the match against their other big rival, England. Lead by Uzbekistan referee, Ravshan Imatov, this match would be the answer to whether Maradona’s somewhat enigmatic selection of 23 players were justified, and whether Germany’s young guns were prepared to continue the struggle to world supremacy.
Read some of our accounts about the match after the jump.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina side line up on Saturday in a quarter-final matchup against a powerful German squad that is coming off a crushing defeat of their English rivals. And if the tense buildup to the game is any indication, football fans are in for a wild ride.
German players have taken the offensive and made a number of provocative declarations to the press in the prelude to the quarter-final clash between Argentina and Germany. Argentine coach Maradona has deflected attention from his squad and responded directly in his usual diplomatic manner.
With a place in the quarter-finals at stake, Argentina faced Mexico in a clash that would pit FC Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Rafa Marquez against each other. In this match, Argentine coach Diego Maradona reshuffled his lineup leaving both Juan Veron and Jonás Gutiérrez on the bench and replacing them with Maxi Rodriguez and Nicolás Otamendi. Read on for a brief match summary. And be sure to give us your impressions of the game in the comments.
Maradona fielded an experimental lineup for this match against Greece in which a draw would have been enough to see Argentina progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup as group leaders. And although Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain were both rested, FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi took to the field wearing the Captain’s armband for the first time in his international career.
Argentina’s opponent in the World Cup finals today was South Korea, a team that had impressed in their opening victory against Greece. For this match, Maxi Rodriguez replaced Juan Veron in the Argentine midfield; the rest of the lineup was identical to the one Maradona fielded against Nigeria. Read on after the jump to see how Messi and his teammates fared in this crucial encounter.
Anyone who thought that a change of outfit meant that Diego Maradona was going to behave himself during this World Cup was put firmly in their places, as the mercurial Argentine manager railed against both Pele and former France great Michel Platini during a press conference today before Argentina’s next match with South Korea.
FC Barcelona and Argentina International forward Lionel Messi (22) did not exactly make his sponsor, Adidas, overly excited with his comments concerning the World Cup match ball, the Jabulani, which has received a great deal of criticism from both goalkeepers and field players. Catalan sports daily Sport presented a report on Adidas’ reaction to their superstar’s comments.
On the day following Argentina’s 1-0 win over opening round opponents Nigeria, FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (22) expressed his feelings in a press conference. Catalán sports daily Sport presented a summary of his comments.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina squad got their World Cup campaign off the ground this morning in a match against Nigeria in Johannesburg. Manager Diego Maradona, sporting a new look for the tournament, surprised some observers by changing his core formation to a 4-3-3 in order to accommodate an extra striker, in this case Carlos Teves, who was joined by Messi and Higuain in the Argentine attack. Follow this story after the jump to see if the experiment paid off.
This is the first in a series of articles that will track Lionel Messi’s Argentina at the World Cup. As the tournament unfolds over the next month, you can expect match previews, reports and highlights, tactical analysis, and even sordid rumors and innuendo. Other totalBarca writers will be following other national teams in which Barcelona players feature prominently. Cheers, and may the best team win [as long as it's Argentina!].
These days, football is not just a sport that the men gather to watch; it is enjoyed by many women around the world, too, who follow the sport with the same passion and knowledge of the game. But as with their male counterparts who enjoy scenes of the female fans cheering on their teams, or seeing photos of the WAGS, the women are not above appreciating some of the “finer” aspects of the players on the field. In a recent poll taken by ElitePartner.de in Germany, the single women expressed their views on who are the most attractive players in the 2010 World Cup. So, girls, who do you suppose was number one?
Recently, Catalán sports daily Sport presented a summary of comments made by FC Barcelona and Argentine international forward Lionel Messi (22) at a press conference in Pretoria, South Africa, where the national team is training ahead of the 2010 World Cup. According to Sport, the Barça player expressed his desire for South Africa 2010 to be the World Cup of Argentina and his World Cup. He assured that “nothing compares with winning the World Cup.”
According to a report on Catalan news site Sport, FC Barcelona and Argentine international forward Lionel Messi (22) was pulled from the starting lineup at the last moment for the friendly against Canada, which was played today in River Plate’s Monumental Stadium. The reason given by the medical staff of Argentina’s national team was because of pain in the muscle of Messi’s right leg, and it was stated that he was pulled for “precautionary reasons.”
![[UPDATED] Messi to play in friendly against Canada today](http://www.totalbarca.com/wp-content/themes/totalbarca/timthumb.php?src=http://www.totalbarca.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/25.jpg&w=576&zc=1&q=90)
According to Catalan news site Sport, FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (22) will be the middle point against Canada in the only test for Argentina prior to their debut match on June 12, 2010, against Nigeria in the World Cup in South Africa. The game will take place today in Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.
Catalan news site El Mundo Deportivo reported that FC Barcelona right back and Brazilian International Daniel Alves (27), confirmed that he knows the “secret” on how to mark his teammate and Argentinean rival player Lionel Messi (22).
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