FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique sat down for an interview late last week with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo. The conversation included a variety of topics such as Ibrahimovic, the Champions League and of course, Real Madrid.
As reported by Catalan paper Sport, Amador Bernabéu, former director of FC Barcelona and grandfather of Gerard Piqué, will be appointed as an ambassador for the club to Europe’s football governing body UEFA.
Víctor Valdés, Gerard Piqué, Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi are FC Barcelona’s nominees among the 12 players shortlisted for UEFA Club Football Awards for the 2009-10 season, according to UEFA’s website. The four players have been nominated in their respective positional categories (Best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward), and one of the 12 will be awarded the overall prize of UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
Twelve of fourteen called up FC Barcelona players saw action in the various international friendlies that took place on Tuesday (Brazil-USA) and Wednesday (the rest). Read a brief summary of each and post your thoughts after the jump.
According to Barcelona’s official website, Carles Puyol, although currently on vacation, couldn’t stay away from the Club’s training ground as he came to watch his teammates train this morning. It was the first time after winning the World Cup that Puyol visited the training grounds and he got a warm reception by both players and coaches.
“I think Pique is in line with the best (defenders) in the world. And he even may be the best.”
FC Barcelona defender Gabriel Milito praises his team-mate Gerard Pique, as quoted by Radio Catalunya.
It was to be a historical World Cup final as both teams, Netherlands or Spain, were going to hold the trophy for the first time in either country’s histories; a game between the creators of the total-football mentality and the current masters of it, thus football fans around the world had great expectations of witnessing a beautiful football game of great passes, chances and goals! It was hard to predict a winner of the game with 50% probability of either team winning as Netherlands sent off Brazil in the quarter-finals while Spain sent off Germany in the semi-finals on their way to the final game. The Spanish team’s starting lineup was the same as in the game against Germany with seven Barcelona players starting while Valdes started on the bench. Great hopes and expectations were put in Villa and Pedro to score the winning goals for Spain during the ninety minutes or maybe in extra-time.
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
Predicting the semi-final game score between Spain and Germany was probably beyond one’s grasp as the game was thought to be a 50/50 chance for both teams. Even Paule, the German octopus, hesitated for a while before choosing Spain as a winner of the game – well he certainly did a great job! The game was to be a test for both teams. The German team to see whether they will be able to stand against the La Roja, and for the Spanish team to see if they will appear in their usual form as a strong and confident team. Seven of Barcelona players started the game while Valdes remained on the bench. Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s coach, realized that in a game against a strong German team a fit, fast and energetic player is needed to cause trouble up front as Torres was unable to find himself yet throughout the competition.
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
The Spanish team players in the quarter-final game against Paraguay tonight were hoping to be the first Spanish team to ever qualify for the semi-finals in the World Cup. Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s coach, relied on the same line-up from the previous game with six Blaugrana players starting while Pedro and Valdes were on the bench. Paraguay had played relatively easy games before the game against Spain and they were to be put to test against a Spanish team that has yet to reach its full potential! Neither team has ever made it to the World Cup semi-finals before, a reason that might have ignited both teams to give their best for a never-accomplished-before achievement.
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
With the same starting line-up from the last game against Chile, Spain went on to play their first game of the knock-out round against Portugal. Blaugrana players Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. At this stage, Spain knew they could not play the same way they had in the group stages, for there was no other way but to win the game in order to qualify for the quarter-finals. Portugal, until the game against Spain, had the best defense in the World Cup, with no goals conceded. Once again the Spanish team was put to test as to whether they might qualify for the quarter-finals!
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
The Spanish national team knew their third game in the group stages of the World Cup would be a tough one. The statistics before their game against Chile witnessed four South American teams qualifying to the second round, everyone topping their groups, and without a single loss! To qualify, Spain had no other choice but to win. Six Barcelona players were in the starting line-up while Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. The Spanish team was under pressure from the beginning of the game while the Chilean team was a bit more relaxed having won their previous two games against Honduras and Switzerland.
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
According to Catalan sports daily El Mundo Deprotivo, FC Barcelona and Argentine International forward Lionel Messi (23 on June 24th), and Real Madrid rivals Gonzalo Higuaín and Cristiano Ronaldo are the candidates for the LFP (Liga de Fútbol Profesional) First Division award for “Best Forward” of the 2009-2010 season.
Spain’s second game in the group stages of the World Cup was against Honduras. To qualify for the knock-out round, Spain has to secure six points after their first loss against Switzerland. Five of Barcelona players were in the starting line up, while Iniesta, Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. Honduras qualified only once before the current World Cup; that was during the 1982 World Cup and they are considered to have weak chances of qualifying to the second round.
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
A number of FC Barcelona’s Spanish international players were involved in the match played against Switzerland in their first game of the group stages. Switzerland are famous for their tough defense and effective defensive strategies which allowed them to qualify for the round of 16 at the World Cup in 2006, ranking first in the table. During the game, six Barcelona players were in the starting line up while Pedro and Valdes started on the bench.
Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.
With the World Cup officially kicking off on Friday, we present you with this song/video by Shakira celebrating the event soon to take place in South Africa. The video contains a few very special cameo appearances by none other than Barça’s very own Pique, Alves, Marquez and Messi. You can also catch these same players in the making of video posted below.
Catalán sports daily El Mundo Deportivo interviewed FC Barcelona and Spanish International central defender Gerard Piqué (23). The original interview can be found here.
While cules await the start of the World Cup in June and the return of La Liga in August, Gerard Piqué’s teenage fans can help out their idol. Apparently, he has lost his boots, or rather, they were stolen. Here is how it all developed, according to Piqué’s sponsor, Píncipe Cookies.
According to Catalan new site El Mundo Deportivo, FC Barcelona and Spanish International central defender Gerard Piqué (23) “awoke the craziness” among the young blaugrana fans — mainly among the teenage girls — when he spent nearly two hours signing copies of his new book, Viaje de ida y vuelta (Journey of Away and Home) at the department store El Corte Inglés de Diagonal. Close to 300 adolescents gathered to see their idol.
This is a translated version of the article run in El Mundo Deportivo. The original version can be found here.
Xavi, Puyol, Busquets, Pique and Bojan traveled to the French capital to cheer on their club teammates in the Euroleague final.
Playing on a slippery pitch in atrocious condition, risk of an injury-causing clash of bodies is certain to happen, and it did last night for FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique against Tenerife. Having had to make a lunge in an attempt to block Alfaro from taking a shot on goal in the 14th minute, the Catalan player took a knock to his right knee and was visibly in discomfort throughout the rest of the first half.
Toure
“I had never seen a team play so defensively. In fact, their centre-forward was behind my position on the pitch and that made the game very hard. The referee messed up, I didn’t touch the ball with my hand but he has the right to make mistakes too.”
FC Barcelona centre-back and Spanish international Gerard Pique urged Barca fans to prepare a real hell for the visitors on Wednesday’s return leg of the Champions League semi-final game against FC Internazionale in today’s scheduled press conference.
Gerard Pique is a well-liked member of the Barcelona squad. He is affable, open, and light-hearted, famous for his sense of humour and enjoyment of practical jokes. He could be described as the Yin to Puyol’s silent, intense, Yang, so inseparable have the pair been at the heart of Barca’s defence since the young lad took over for Rafael Marquez.
Pique
“The TV will show that Milito was offside and that Maicon’s goal came as a result of a foul on Messi. Barca didn’t have any help from the referees. Hopefully for the return leg we’ll have an impartial referee. The return leg will be a long 90 minutes, we’re only down two goals and I’m sure we are capable of winning.”
“They had studied us well. They dominated the game and knew how to stop our game.”
Gerard Pique, Ronaldo’s worst nightmare!
The players expressed their views in the post-match press conference. Click on the read more tag to find out what they said.
FC Barcelona held their training session at the Ciutat Esportiva this morning, still without the participation of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and French left-back Eric Abidal, who worked outside of the group doing their own recuperation exercises. The two were joined on the sideline by defender Gerard Pique, who is apparently still carrying some discomfort caused by his thigh hamstring injury, picked up more than a week ago.
Today’s session also saw the inclusion of Edu Oriol, Ilie Sánchez, Gai Assulin and Miguel Ánge Luque from the reserve squad.
Leo Messi was an unstoppable force from the first day he set foot on a Barcelona training pitch as a shy and scrawny 13-year-old, according to his team-mate Gerard Pique, speaking at the recent launch of his new book (read more here).
Speaking to a packed news room at his book-launching ceremony today, FC Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué was forced to talk more about football than his book.
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