Dani Alves might not have the pace he had when he first signed for the club in 2008 at 25 years of age, but he still remains a vital player for FC Barcelona. He has been criticized a lot this season, in part unfairly so, and blaming the defensive issues on him is unreasonable. Despite all the critics, I see Alves as one of the best Barça players this season. His ineffectiveness in attack at times or the space left open on his wing isn’t always his fault, yet in some people’s eyes, the blame is placed solely on him.

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FC Barcelona player Jordi Alba, speaking during the presentation ceremony of his youth training campus, said that despite winning the main objective, the La Liga title, the team still wants to do something important this spring. “We have three games left and we’ll try to win them. We want to equal Madrid’s record and win 100 points,” he declared. Asked about plans for next season and his opinion about upcoming signings, Alba noted that “the coaching staff and the board of directors will strengthen the team where they see fit. I think the team is great, we have a bright future, and I hope we win more titles next season.” When asked specifically about the possibility of Neymar joining the blaugrana, he said, “I don’t know if he’ll come or not. He’s a great player and he’s proving that he’s a different kind of footballer.”

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FC Barcelona defender Jordi Alba underlined how important it was to the squad to wrap up La Liga title this weekend as the team faces a tricky away fixture with Atlético Madrid. Speaking to the press on Thursday, the defender made things clear: “We’ll do everything we can to win the league on Sunday. Hopefully after the game at the Vicente Calderón, we’ll be lifting the trophy. It’s a very important title and we’re eager to be crowned champions!” FC Barcelona need three points from their final few matches to clinch the title ahead of both teams from Madrid. “It will be my first domestic club title. People should appreciate the big lead we’ve built up ahead of the second placed team. The team values that lead very highly.”

Image: Ignasi Paredes

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Although FC Barcelona’s coaching staff gave the players a day off this Wednesday following the team’s return from Munich, a few members of the squad headed to the Ciutat Esportiva to train voluntarily.

Carles Puyol, Cristian Tello, Jordi Alba, Alex Song, and Martín Montoya worked at the club’s training center, hoping to overcome injury or maintain form for those that did not play against Bayern Munich.

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Good news coming from the official website. Both Xavi (33) and Jordi Alba (24) have been given the medical green light to play against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

The two players both came back injured after Spain’s qualifying games for the world cup in Brazil 2014 against Finland and France.

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FC Barcelona’s official site has reported that fullback Jordi Alba has left the Spanish national team camp with an injury, and returned to Barcelona to undergo further tests.

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March 21 should be on all our calendars. It’s a date that marks the birth of Barça stars both past and present: Ronald Koeman, Ronaldinho and recent recruit Jordi Alba.

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Asked for his opinion on drawing Carlo Ancelotti’s PSG, the nouveau-rich Parisians, Jordi Alba voiced his overall satisfaction, though he cautioned that Barça still has “a lot to learn from the matches against Milan if they are to advance to the semifinals.” While admitting that there are no easy teams left, even more important than the opponent itself is the fact that Barça will be playing the return leg at home, just as had occurred against AC Milan. The Catalan left back reflected that “this is phenomenal since playing the second leg at the Camp Nou gives the team a lot more possibilities.”

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I believe Jordi Alba was the reason we won the Champions League game last night – and I had decided that long before he took off on his long-busting run down the field to score Barça’s fourth. He was not the best player on the pitch, but he was by far the most important in achieving that elusive “0″ on Milan’s side of the scoreboard.

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After the jump, read the reactions of a few FC Barcelona players, Jordi Roura, and Andoni Zubizarreta to Saturday afternoon’s defeat to Real Madrid.

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FC Barcelona fullback Jordi Alba(23), on Thursday, unveiled his new Adidas boots and in the accompanying press conference shared his opinion on Wednesday’s Clàsico, the conduct of the players and referees during and after the game and the upcoming match against his former club, Valencia CF. The left back also reiterated his belief that the league is not decided yet, giving a special mention to Atlético Madrid’s form. Excerpts from the interview are after the break.

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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.

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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.

Here is the second instalment of El Pivote’s Christmas Holiday report cards!  The first instalment can be found here.

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The illustrious French sports magazine L’Equipe published today a selection of 11 players that compose their best team of 2012.  From that 11, FC Barcelona can boast 4 players, more than any other team in Europe except one.  Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi have been chosen for this praise before, but the man at left back Jordi Alba debuts in this honor.  It has been quite a year for Jordi Alba.

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Only hours after the final group stage match in the Champions League ended in a goalless draw with Benfica, Barça held a training session this Thursday morning at the Ciutat Esportiva. Leo Messi, who picked up a knock on Wednesday evening, worked in the gym while the starters against the Portuguese side held a gentler session focused on recovery.

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Six FC Barcelona players have made it to the 40-man shortlist for the UEFA Team of the Year 2012. Select your team of the year through the link after the jump!

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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:

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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 we will examine certain defensive woes from the last couple of games.

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Tito Vilanova pointed to the danger coming from the speed of Celta’s strikers during the pre-match press conference but he may not have adequately heeded his own advice when selecting Adriano, Mascherano, Busquets, and Alba to play in a defence that constantly fluctuated in the first half, often with only 2 defending. Xavi, Fàbregas, and Iniesta made up the midfield, so there was no traditional anchor, while Villa joined Pedro and Messi upfront. It never looked like Barcelona would struggle to score, but evidence early on also pointed to the improbability of a clean sheet.

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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.

Just over a week after securing our eight point lead over our greatest rivals, the bunch of games since the previous international break provides us with plenty over which to ponder for the next set of games. This week on El Pivote, we shall discuss the centre back crisis, Montoya’s promotion to the first eleven and the Cesc-Iniesta combination.

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Speaking to the press after their 0-2 victory in Lisbon, Cesc, Alexis, Jordi Alba and Mascherano had a number of comments about their second win in Champions League Group G. A number of players also took to Twitter to make comments and offer support for Puyol. Find out what they had to say after the jump.

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FC Barcelona’s first team held its penultimate training session this Friday afternoon before the League match against Granada, which will be played on Saturday night at the Camp Nou (22:00). Nineteen members of the first team took part in the training session, including Jordi Alba, who missed the last few matches with flu and who received his medical clearance after the session. Also present at training were Barça B players Tello and Sergi Roberto.

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FC Barcelona has so far signed only one new player for the 2012-13 season, Jordi Alba. The last time the club signed only a single new player in the off-season was back in 1993-4. The signing: none other than Romário. His price: 12 million Euros.

Image: Sport

FC Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes posted this image to his twitter stream with the caption: “Welcome home champion.” Looks like Jordi Alba won’t have many problems integrating into his new team!

Image: @1victorvaldes

On Thursday, FC Barcelona’s first team trained in Gothenburg with all the available players present except for Alves, who did specific work to recover from a bruised right heel. The progress of the Brazilian player, whose heel was hurt during the friendly against Manchester United, will determine his availability for the last match of the preseason against Dinamo Bucarest.

The blaugranes, who will remain in Sweden until Friday, held their training session at the Gamla Ullevi stadium. Jordi Alba trained for the first time under the orders of Tito Vilanova today, after joining the first team on Wednesday, and making his debut in the blaugrana kit during the friendly against Manchester United. Andoni Zubizarreta watched the session.

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FC Barcelona’s recent signing, Jordi Alba (23), debuted with the blaugrana’s first team against Manchester United on Wednesday in a friendly game played in Gothenburg. Today was his first day with the team after a well deserved week of vacation that followed his presence at the Olympic Games. Coach Tito Vilanova decided to give Alba a chance in the 66th minute of the game. The debuting player replaced Adriano and played for 24 minutes.

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Spain vs. Japan, 2012 Olympic Games, Group D, Game 1
Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 14:45 local time/15:45 Barcelona time (Convert to your local time)
Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland (Capacity: 52,063)
Barça players to watch: Martín Montoya, Jordi Alba, and Cristian Tello

Even though the official opening ceremony isn’t until Friday, the 2012 Olympic Men’s Football tournament kicks off this afternoon, with three Barça representatives in Spain’s 18-man squad.

FC Barcelona Chat: http://apps.facebook.com/fcbarcelonachat/ (direct chat through Facebook)

Click here to chat!

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Ahead of their first match against Japan today (14:45 GMT, 15:45 Barcelona time) , the players comprising Spain’s Olympic squad for the 2012 games in London posed for their official portraits for the tournament. Catch Alba and Tello’s portraits after the jump.

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The controversy around Barcelona’s new left back Jordi Alba can finally be put to bed: Alba has been named to the 18 man Spanish Olympic squad, and barring unforeseen incident, the player will take part in the tournament. Alba had never hidden his desire to feature for the squad. But his enthusiasm was tempered by advice from the FC Barcelona entourage who worried about what the physical and mental effects of a second summer tournament might bring as the team prepares for a long 2012-13 campaign. The full 18-man squad is listed below and features several other past and present FC Barcelona players, most notably Montoya and Tello:

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