Today, the RFEF has announced the official Liga calendar and the various match-ups that will comprise the 2010-11 season. FC Barcelona will play their first match away at Racing Club de Santander on the weekend of August 28th, and the two clasicos have both been set: Real Madrid will visit the Camp Nou on November 28th, and Barcelona will face the crowd at the Bernabeu on April 17. The rest of the fixtures are listed below.
Gerard Pique, Ronaldo’s worst nightmare!
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQeOhmUAgFo
In last night’s post-match press session, FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola again played down the significance of the win over arch-rival Real Madrid and reiterated the challenges still ahead of them.
Fresh of FC Barcelona 0-2 El Clasico win over Real Madrid at the Barnebeu last night, Leo Messi was asked by a reporter about it and the player did not hide his satisfaction: “The team showed that we are superior to anyone if we want to, but then we have to prove it on the field and today, we did. It was an important victory, but now we have to keep on going.
Veteran Asturian referee Manuel Mejuto González will enforce the rules of the game in Saturday’s decisive clash between arch-enemies FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. In this decade, Madrid have never lost a game overseen by Mejuto González: will history repeat itself this weekend, or will Pep’s squad begin to write a new chapter in this rivalry? Continue reading »
Saturday, April 10, 22:00 CET – Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The biggest football game in the world
Speaking in today’s scheduled El Clasico pre-match news conference held at the Ciutat Esportivo FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola played down the significance of the Bernabeu clash.
FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has already named 19 players who he will bring to the Barnebeu tomorrow. Contrary to an earlier report, where he was reported as being already medically discharged, Swede centre-forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not listed as one of them. The other player missing is French left-back Eric Abidal, who is only expected to be back for the Champions League semi-finals first leg match against Inter Milan on April 20th. The good news for the coach is the availability of centre-back Gerard Piqué, who was cleared of his hamstring injury today. Continue reading »
President of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta takes the twenty-first century adage of “work hard, party harder” quite seriously. Prior to this week, Barca were facing the possibility of elimination at the group-stage of Champions’ League and were trailing La Liga leaders Real Madrid by one point. They however, turned things around. Over the week, Pep’s men earned a hard fought victory over arch rivals Real Madrid to regain the league leadership after pulverizing Inter Milan earlier to smoothen their path towards the Round of 16.
Laporta decided that grand happiness deserves grand celebration and let his hair lose in the Luz de Gas discotheque in Barcelona. He was seen drinking champagne and dancing on the night of El Clasico.
Source: Corriere dello Sport
Find a video recording of Laporta’s performance after the jump :)
Ibra: “Iker, there’s only so far you can see in the mirror.”
“You can now look at us through these binoculars.”
THIS IS A FEATURED ARTICLE. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LATEST NEWS.
1. The gallery mosaic that greeted fans and players at the Camp Nou on Sunday was staged in commemoration of Barcelona’s 110th anniversary. The Catalan club was founded by Hans Gamper on November 29, 1899.
2. The most anticipated game of the season gathered 97,131 spectators, a new season record, topping last Tuesday’s 93,524 fans that watched the Barcelona-Inter Milan Champions League match/Eto’o's homecoming.
3. Among those that watched at the Camp Nou were foreign dignitaries as well as Catalan actor Eduard Fernández wearing an Alcorcón scarf, and legendary Belgian cyclist and long time Barcelona admirer, Eddy Merckx, who officially became a socio before the match (he is member # 171, 070).
The internet, such as social network Facebook, is abuzz with the news, images and comments made by the peaceful Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta losing his composure and rushing forward at a provocative Cristiano Ronaldo in el Clasico, according to Catalan sports paper Sport, and most was seen as in support of his action.
On Facebook, a group calling itself ‘The day Iniesta told CR9 to shut up’ already has some 90,000 members. Besides this group, others such as ‘How I laughed seeing Iniesta shutting Cristiano up’ and ‘Iniesta silences the Poligonero (i.e. the contemptous)’ are also gaining a lot of support.
Iniesta was still angry at the end of the match when he told reporters: “It annoyed me that Cristiano told me not to dive because he is not exactly the best person to tell anyone that. He should not be accusing anyone whether they dived or not.”
(The Scoreboard reads)
Those who only need ten (men) – 1
Those who need to invest 300 million more – 0
This is how their boat looks in our rearview
Speaking to Catalan sports paper Sport after Barcelona’s training session, the day after their win in el Clasico, Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he is aware that his goal has left a mark on everyone, and being the player who brought down Real Madrid, is now ‘confirmed’ as the new hero of the Camp Nou.
Zlatan has to live up to a very intense expectation since he first arrived in Barcelona. In his official presentation, he was hailed by more than 50,000 fans in the Camp Nou. But he has repaid that faith soon after with goals after goals, and titles; The Spanish and European Super Cups, but nothing compared to the one he scored on Sunday.
The el Clasico at the Camp Nou was the Swede first big game in Barcelona colours and he acknowledged its significance: “I have scored in the AC Milan – Inter match before, but to do it in el Clasico feels a lot better, there is just no comparison.”
The repurcussions of the latest El Clasico played between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid seem to have extended way beyond the lush green pitch of the Camp Nou and into the virtual turf of the internet. Cules online have made most of the victory the Blaugrana players have given them and have let their creativity run wild to take jabs at the team they most want to beat.
Read on after the jump to take a first hand look at their wacky creations.
In the el Clasico post-match press conference held after the match, FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted he was satisfied for having won the match and said the key to the Catalan’s team victory was “not to fade away” at any moment in the match especially after losing Busquets, and probably an allusion to the difficulties faced by his players in the first half too.
Speaking of the early domination by Real Madrid, Guardiola said, “We were caught between the lines, and we were not prepared. With Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Higuain playing in the space, they are a constant danger. We finished the first half well and were better in the second. I wouldn’t know what would have happened if we still have 11 players on the pitch”.
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC: “The credit goes to Dani [Alves] who put an excellent cross into the middle. I just tried to hit it and it went in. It’s a great moment, in my first Clasico. It was a fantastic atmosphere, I’m really happy.”
ANDRES INIESTA : (reacting to an on-pitch incident with Cristiano Ronaldo) “It disturbed me that Cristiano felt the need to tell me that I should not dive. Because he is not the most appropriate person to be doing such a thing.”… (commenting on the game) “It’s a great result and now we must stay focused and continue working.” Continue reading »
Original article @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/nov/30/ronaldo-ibrahimovic-real-madrid-barcelona
Posted by Sid Lowe
Monday 30 November 2009 13.06 GMT
This time, Iker Casillas wasn’t wearing his Iker Casillas face, the one that says “you call that a defence?!” This time, his defence was a defence. He was, though, wearing the face of an idiot. Up the tunnel and through the plywood door, chapel to the left, dressing room to the right, Dani Alves was wearing the face of a grinning simpleton, all glazed expression and cheeky smiles. Xabi Alonso was wearing the face of the disappointed, doe-eyed and sad, Pepe was wearing the face of Stanley Ipkiss, and Cristiano Ronaldo was wearing the shiny but not particularly happy face of someone who applies too much lotion. It was hard to see what kind of face Carles Puyol was wearing but he was probably smiling behind all that hair.
Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, was wearing what the Spanish describe as a face of circumstances, skin dragged down as if an invisible weight hung from his chin. His side had just produced their best league performance in the biggest match – an intense, high-tempo display in the clásico. One in which he insisted “we were better than them in just about everything”, in which Kaká showed flashes of his class, Alonso and Lass Diarra smothered Barça’s midfield, and Ronaldo looked dangerous; in which almost everyone played well, in fact. But still they had lost 1-0, despite playing almost half an hour with an extra man. Still they’d lost top spot; still Barcelona had secured their best ever start. Only two coaches had reached week 12 unbeaten before – Bobby Robson and Terry Venables.
With their 1-0 home win against Real Madrid in last night’s el Clasico Round 1, Barcelona regained la Liga lead (30 – 28) after 12 rounds of matches. It was a match filled with uncertainty in the line-ups of both teams due to recent injuries and was a pretty balanced contest with the visiting side taking the early initiative but unable to capitalise on it.
The winning goal came courtesy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 56th minute.
“Cristiano Ronaldo fell slightly short of his promised 10 or 20 goals”
Barcelona Right back defender Daniel Alves in the aftermath of his sides 1-0 win over arch rivals Real Madrid.
Barcelona have completed their usual matchday training session this Sunday morning at the Camp Nou pitch that involves all members of the first team except the still recovering Gabriel Milito.
During home games, it is common for Pep Guardiola to hold his final training session at the stadium, focusing on game strategy.
According to Madrid based sports papers Marca and AS, though as yet has to be confirmed officially, Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini has already named his starting eleven for tonight’s el Clasico match at the Camp Nou.
The papers claim French striker Karim Benzema will be sacrificed to make way for the recently recovered Cristiano Ronaldo, and captain Raul Gonzales will start from the bench.
If correct, according to the report, los Blancos will start the match as such: Continue reading »
In an analysis he made for France TV Canal Plus, former Real Madrid’s galactico and current Florentino Perez’s adviser, Zinedine Zidane confessed to his admiration for the footballing style practiced by Barcelona and acknowledged that in light of the Catalan side’s last Champions League win over Inter Milan (2-0), it will be very difficult to stop the Blaugranas, at least for now. And Real Madrid, in his opinion, is comparably inferior, and believes that only the ‘non-presence’ of Barcelona’s maestro midfielder Andres Iniesta can level the playing field.
The football exhibition displayed by a well-oiled Barcelona machine against Inter Milan has made an impact in Europe, according to Zidane: “I pray that players like Iniesta could not play against Real Madrid (this Sunday),” he declared, adding, “Playing the way they play, neither Real Madrid nor any else can stop them. It is almost impossible.”
This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for all the latest posts.
November 29, 2009, 19:00 CET – Camp Nou, Barcelona
Calderón: Florentino, our worst fears have become a reality, our nightmares have escaped the captivity of our dreams to torture us. Barcelona have ripped away from us the title of the best team in Espanya!
Pérez: Relax Ramón! This has happened many times before, Real will bounce back, as always.
In the el Clasico pre-match press conference today, Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini, said his team is equal or better in stature than the Catalan side, and feels his team has the ability to beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou tomorrow night.
“Barcelona is not only Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, but is an established style,” Pellegrini opened the question and answer session, “Perhaps we lack the ease with which they play, but we can also dominate in possession and have more shot on goals than all of our past opponents.”
“I disagree with those who say that they play better than us. We have established that, because they are neither ahead in la Liga nor in the Champions League (10 points to 8). They neither score any more goals nor a fitter side. We are just different. Real Madrid plays well, though at times we got a bit stuck,” he added.
In today’s el Clasico pre-match press conference, FC Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola thinks tomorrow match is going to be a balanced and hard fought match where both teams will press for the win: “Real Madrid is a team that places a lot of importance on keeping possession of the ball, likes to dominate a match and plays well on the counter-attack.”
“Away from home, they have only let in four goals all season and I think defence-wise, they are very strong. I have this feeling that they are going to be well organised,” he added.
In an exclusive interview with Madrid sports paper Marca today, Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema acknowledged the importance of his first ever el Clasico to his career.
Although in recent days there has been a lot of talk about Barcelona’s spectacular football and Real Madrid’s lack of style, the Frenchman is asking for patience from the media and fans, saying that “bit by bit the spectacle will come.”
Asked about Real’s prospect of beating the Catalan side on their home turf, Benzema said he is confident of his team’s chances this Sunday and is not concerned, “I’m afraid of neither Barca nor the Camp Nou.”
Subscribe to our RSS FEED to receive breaking news as well as receive other site updates or alternatively, feel free to connect with us.
