Player Reactions: Winning La Liga
After yesterday’s uninspired victory over Atlético Madrid, several FC Barcelona players spoke to the press about the much larger victory of regaining the Liga championship.
Player Reactions: Social media
Several players from FC Barcelona sent out messages to the fans via various social media mediums (Facebook, Twitter) following the defeat to Bayern Munich and resultant exit from the UEFA Champions League. Read their posts and tweets after the jump.
Number of the Day: 12,370
12, 370 – the number of meters Cesc Fàbregas ran against Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou according to official UEFA statistics. That number makes Cesc the most industrious player on the pitch that evening, besting second place Dani Alves by over one kilometer. Can’t fault him for effort or dedication.
Cesc ruled out of Betis clash
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fàbregas will miss next Sunday’s match against Real Betis on an evening in which the Catalans could secure the Liga title. Fàbregas saw his fifth yellow card in Saturday’s match in Bilbao and will serve the automatic disciplinary one match suspension.
Image: PAREDES
Post-Match Reactions: FC Barcelona 1-0 Levante UD
The nervy 1-0 versus Levante on Saturday was not the team’s best performance, but at this stage of the season with a titanic match looming, it was three more points that effectively mattered. After the jump are some reactions from Roura and several players.
Recovery session with Barça B
This Thursday, FC Barcelona’s first team held a training session focused on recuperation together with the players of Barça B. The session took place on pitch no. 1 of the Ciutat Esportiva this morning, following yesterday’s qualification to the semi-finals of the Champions League. As is usual the day after a match, the players in the starting eleven spent the session doing recovery work. The rest of the group trained with the next match in mind, Sunday’s league game against Zaragoza.
Welcome Lia!
On Wednesday, Cesc Fàbregas (25) and his partner Daniella Semaan welcomed daughter Lia into the world. Apparently Lia’s birth took place during the match between FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, with Cesc hearing the news shortly after qualification for the Champions League semi-finals was secured.
The effects of Lionel Messi’s absence
Barça is often called a “one-man-team”. And the one man in the team is naturally Leo Messi. Now with Messi out due to an injury, Barça is more or less forced to look for other options, and the truthfulness of the term “one-man-team” should be revealed. However, I am not entirely convinced that this is an accurate term to describe Barça at all.
Number of the Day: 1
1 – Cesc Fàbregas has a trophy cabinet most envy, and there are surely more trinkets to come, but in all that he had never accomplished one feat: the hat-trick. Therefore, Saturday evening’s three goals versus Mallorca is a landmark moment for Cesc, his first ever professional hat-trick.
Image Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images
El Pivote: Methodical Midfield Madness
El Pivote (The Pivot) is a totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is blaugrana. We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
El Pivote is back with a bang, taking issue with a renowned Spanish football expert and adding flesh to the bone of the possession conundrum.
Barça’s new look
On Sunday, against Rayo Vallecano, Dani Alves flaunted his new and rather flamboyant hairstyle. The Brazilian right back admitted that the shorter, faded-white hairdo was the result of losing a bet (surely something to do with Barcelona’s historic remuntada against AC Milan!). Yet, this wasn’t the most striking anomaly of the day. In Xavi’s absence, Barcelona looked to be a distinctively different side; just as effective but with considerable variation in their style of play. A closer look at the 3-1 win (with two of Barcelona’s goals resulting from well-executed counter attacks), reveals that quick transition between the lines replaced the cautious and meticulous build up from the back that culés are accustomed to. While this new style may be temporary, it is a sign that Barcelona is willing to reinvent itself.
Video of the Day: We believe!
Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Harnández, Cesc Fàbregas, Javier Mascherano… all of them declared this week that they believe FC Barcelona will defeat AC Milan on Tuesday.
Cesc: “Honesty is the most important thing in life”
Cesc Fábregas answered some questions during a radio interview with Cadena SER last Wednesday. His interview wasn’t only about football, and covered Fábregas’s opinions on the current situation in Spain, his family, political corruption, and the Pope’s recent resignation. He confessed his addiction to football, considers Wenger his second father, and expresses caution over whether Guardiola will succeed at Bayern Munich. Continue reading for a translation of the interview (original version here).
Player quotes: Ready for the challenges ahead
With no weekday game this week due to the Champions League, FC Barcelona players were given two days to rest and recover for the month ahead. In their time off, several blaugrana players have given interviews with the press, speaking on the team’s readiness as they prepare for the coming Champions League and Clasico ties.
Player Reactions: Real Madrid 1-1 FC Barcelona
Yesterday’s 1-1 battle, which it was in every sense, was for my money not only the most entertaining heavyweight clash in La Liga, but throughout European football this season. Below are the reactions from select FC Barcelona players.
Video of the Day: Cesc destroys Malaga
Remember all the opposition to signing Cesc Fabragas back in 2011? Any of you who are still on the fence about this player: watch and weep.
Cesc: “The game against Málaga is our first final”
Asked whether Thursday’s second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal against Málaga will be the most important match of the season, Cesc’s response could not have been clearer. When speaking to the press on Tuesday, Cesc insisted that “the game against Málaga is the most important match so far- it’s our first final.” He then added that Barça most likely needs to win against Málaga in order to reach the semi-final, which could set up a possible Clásico against Real Madrid. While disappointed with the 2-2 at the Camp Nou and the team’s first defeat in La Liga, Cesc is positive that the team will turn things around and keep on moving forward.
El Pivote: Heightened Expectations
El Pivote (or The Pivot) is a weekly totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is blaugrana. We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
El Pivote returns for the new year with a discussion about expectations for the second half of the season and we comment on a few players, some of which is fallout from Monday’s Ballon d’Or awards.
Video of the Day: Cesc vs RCD Espanyol
Video Credit: CescFabregas4i
Adriano, Cesc, and Song cleared to play
This Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva, FC Barcelona held its first training session of 2013 with all available first team players, after separate session were held on Wednesday for the Catalan squad players and the rest of the group. Today’s session was led by Tito Vilanova. After training, Cesc , Adriano and Song received their medical clearances.
Barça’s 2012: A year at a glance
If someone watched Barça play in the last days of 2011, then slept for a year and watched the last game of 2012, they would probably think that not much had happened, that nothing had changed. But we all know that was not the case. 2012 tested our strength as culés in many ways, and, hopefully, helped us to learn from those experiences.
Upon reflection, the last 12 months have been a rollercoaster: some great moments, some sad moments, and some to learn from. I would say the events of 2012 will probably shape many of the years to come at Barça.
Fabregas recovery nearly complete
FC Barcelona will soon welcome their first reinforcement of the winter: Cesc Fabregas. A report on Saturday in Mundo Deportivo claimed that Fabregas, who limped off the field at the beginning of December, will return to group training on Wednesday, after a series of punishing double-sessions over the last week. If true, this means that the player would be available for the Catalan derby against Espanyol on January 6.
Image: Manu Fernandez [AP]
El Pivote: Christmas Holiday Report Cards (Part 1)
El Pivote (or The Pivot) is a weekly totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is Blaugrana We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
As millions of young Barcelona fans around the world will be bringing home their report cards from school this week, El Pivote will attempt to give the players their respective grades as well.
Preparations for Valladolid continue
Barça continued to prepare for Saturday’s away match against Valladolid with all the available first team players and Éric Abidal, who on Wednesday re-joined the group for training almost 10 months after last featuring in a game. David Villa worked normally with the group this Thursday, after spending Wednesday doing specific training work in the gym.
Picture of the Day: Seydou Keita revisits the Camp Nou
Seydou Keita (32) trained at the Ciutat Esportiva today, preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations, which is set to start in on January 15 in South Africa. Dalian Aerbin, his current club, have given ex-Blaugrana permission to train at the facilities of his former club as the Chinese Super league season is coming to a conclusion. On his first day at training, Keita trained along side the injured Cesc Fabregas.
Image Credit: Cesc Fabregas official twitter
El Pivote: Papering over the Crack?
El Pivote (or The Pivot) is a weekly totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is blaugrana. We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
We return this week* with more discussion on Messi’s dominant role in the team and also whether or not his brilliance is somewhat overshadowing a few factors that Vilanova still needs to work on. totalBarça looks to redress the balance.
Match Review: FC Barcelona 5-1 Athletic Bilbao
350. 190. 84. On his 350th official match for FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi scored his 190th La Liga goal and his 84th goal of the 2012 calendar year. These numbers level him with Cesar for the club record of all-time La Liga goals and leaves him just 1 behind Gerd Müller’s record of 85 goals in 1 calendar year. Messi nevertheless did create a new record this evening with his 5th successive match with 2 goals or more (source: @MessiStuff). But the match was not all about Leo this evening, because the team from 1 to 11 gave a top notch performance filled with hunger, precision, and creative flair. I’d expect Manuel Traquete’s latest set of ratings to be rather high.
10 Barça nominees for l’Onze Mondial FIFA/FIFPro 2012
L’Onze Mondial FIFA/FIFPro 2012 is an award that honors the best 11 players during the past year selected by fellow professional footballers globally.
FC Barcelona has 10 total nominees: 5 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 1 forward. That is the most players of any team in Europe. Below are the nominees per category:
Xavi: The man of a thousand passes
Prior to the weekend’s tie versus Real Zaragaoza, Xavi Hernández became the only player in Europe’s annointed top 5 leagues to successfully complete over 1, 000 passes in domestic competition. This was completed in 11 league matches. In those matches Xavi attempted 1, 054 passes and completed 1, 007 giving him an incredibly success rate of 95.54%.
FC Barcelona have other representatives in the top 10, as well as some ex-players. Former La Masia graduate Mikel Arteta was 2nd with 994 successful passes, Yaya Touré was 4th with 934, Sergio Busquets was 6th with 841 and Cesc Fàbregas sat in 8th position completing 796 passes.
El Pivote: Dubious Defence & Midfield Malarky
El Pivote (or The Pivot) is a weekly totalBarça column by Anoop Jethwa about the trials and tribulations of FC Barcelona. From the positives to the negatives, this piece will dive deep into the living fabric that is blaugrana. We welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.
This week on El Pivote there is more defensive dilemma discussion and we outline Tito’s exact tactical deployment so far this season.
