Post-Match Review: FC Barcelona 2-1 Real Valladolid
On a rain filled evening in Barcelona, the newly crowned champions welcomed Real Valladolid to the Camp Nou for round 36 of La Liga. The torrential downpour led to the local authorities advising people to only venture outside if it was necessary, and while not a full stadium, plenty of people found it a necessity to go and see Barça lift the league trophy and celebrate as a team at the end of the match.
Live Match Chat: FC Barcelona vs Real Valladolid
totalBarça welcomes you all to the Liga game between FC Barcelona and Real Valladolid!
(Sunday May 19, 2012 @ 21:00 Barcelona time - Convert to local time). We also have the return of the Match Countdown Timer at the right side of the main page above the Search bar!
Vilanova: “The more goals we score, the better”
Tito Vilanova spoke to the media during Saturday’s press conference, after it was released that he will head to New York on Monday for further cancer treatment.
In preparation for Valladolid, he talked about the incentive to win 100 points. “We’ll try to win our remaining three matches. The more goals we score, the better. We can’t stop competing, that’s the only thing I wouldn’t like. We owe our fans and we have to finish the season in strong fashion.”
Champion’s dinner
This evening FC Barcelona has celebrated the league title with a dinner at Arola, a restaurant at the Hotel Arts Barcelona. All members of the first team squad and the technical staff were invited, as were their partners.
Pedro: “Neymar is a great player”
At today’s lunchtime press conference at the Ciutat Esportiva, Pedro Rodríguez expressed his pleasure at winning the league title, as it is a mark of consistency across the entire year and the effort that the team exerted, although he would have liked to have given more.
About the possibility of reaching the 100 points record through the last three remaining games, he echoed the sentiments of his teammate Jordi Alba by saying, “the 100 point record is a motivation for us and an objective we have in mind. We know it will be difficult because the other teams we are playing are still playing for things – but we intend to try.”
Running on fumes
It has been a rather difficult season for FC Barcelona. The illness of Tito Vilanova and the injuries suffered by many key players have made the season more or less a battle for survival, even though the Liga title has already been secured. We all know that some things can’t be controlled, such as Tito’s unfortunate illness, but could we have done something differently to prevent the injury problems we’ve faced this season? Could we have learned more from the previous seasons when the same problems occurred, though to a smaller extent?
Video of the Day: Parade
Above is a short video summary of the La Liga victory parade that took place yesterday in Barcelona. Click on ‘continue reading’ to watch the full three hour video of the parade.
Exclusive: totalBarça pictures from the league celebration
As FC Barcelona won the league title on Saturday evening, fans filled Las Rambla around Canaletes to celebrate. And yesterday the Barcelona streets filled up with supporters as the team travelled through the city in an open-bus parade. totalBarça’s Alexandra was there to get you pictures from the celebration…
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.
Let’s CELEBRATE!
FC Barcelona’s football team is going to celebrate the 2012/13 La Liga championship with the fans and the whole city of Barcelona. The players and coaches will take part in an open top bus tour of the city today. They will be joined by the women’s football team ‘Femení A’, who have won their league for the second year in a row.
The bus will leave from the World Trade Centre in the Port at 6:30 pm and take the following route: Passeig de Colom, Via Laietana, Ronda de Sant Pere, Plaça Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia, Carrer d’Aragó, Avinguda de Roma, Carrer del Comte d’Urgell, Avinguda de Sarrià before finishing in the Plaça del doctor Ignasi Barraquer.
Post-Match Review: Atlético Madrid 1-2 FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona took to the Vicente Calderon field surrounded by the Atlético Madrid guard of honor, with friendly greetings and congratulations between the two sets of players. As the new champions of Spain, the blaugrana went into the game with nothing but pride forcing them to go for the victory, which they did in one of the most testing games of the season.
Although this season’s La Liga title seems like a small achievement to many football fans around the world, that is only due to the extremely high standards that Barça has set throughout the last five years, and the high expectations from their ruthless displays early in the season. However, the fact still remains that they have won this trophy because of an amazing showing in the domestic league, with the only slump happening later on in the season because of many unfortunate events at the club.
A league title is won by the best team, so imagine a team winning it with our point difference, and a possible 100 points collected, to equal last year’s Real Madrid record.
Live Match Chat: Atlético Madrid vs FC Barcelona
totalBarça welcomes you all to the Liga game between Atlético Madrid and Liga Champions FC Barcelona!
(Sunday May 12, 2013 @ 19:00 Barcelona time - Convert to local time). We also have the return of the Match Countdown Timer at the right side of the main page above the Search bar!
Number of the Day: 22
As FC Barcelona won its 22nd league title on Saturday, several of the players and staff took a moment to dedicate the successful season to the extraordinary recoveries of Tito Vilanova and Éric Abidal – Abidal, of course, being our very own #22. Anims Tito, anims Abidal, and visca el Barça!
Image: fcbarcelona.com
FC Barcelona: Campeon de la Liga!
FC Barcelona have been crowned Liga champions after Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw away at Espanyol means that they are mathmatically incapable of overtaking Tito Vilanova’s squad. Stay tuned to totalBarça for more celebrationsand reactions as the weight of this new title settles in! For once we have Espanyol to thank for a positive late-season result. Who would have thought?
Image: fcbarcelona.cat
Vilanova: “This league means a lot”
FC Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova addressed the press on Saturday ahead of this weekend’s Liga match in Madrid against third placed Atlético. Vilanova spent most of his time validating the squad’s imminent Liga title: “This league means a lot. We’ll have beaten the best Madrid ever, the one that got 100 points. I know [Atlético] will want to beat us. It’s always an added motivation to be playing Barça. Atlético have the cup final to think about, but they have a big enough squad to be able to cope well enough with this match too. They’ve only let in ten goals at home and are having an excellent season.”
Match Preview: Atlético Madrid vs FC Barcelona
The other Madrid went ahead and smashed Málaga Wednesday evening so any ideas of an especially early La Liga party for FC Barcelona were put to bed. Still Barça are eight points clear of Real Madrid, with a game in hand, ahead of either one playing this weekend with four match-days remaining. Mou’s men travel to Barcelona to face Espanyol and dependent on the result there, a fiesta may break out. A victory for Tito Vilanova’s men Sunday against Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid will clinch FC Barcelona’s 22nd La Liga title and hand Tito his first cup as head boss, irrespective of Real Madrid. Yet, while trips to the Vicente Calderón, or any match against Atlético for that matter, are routine visits for Real Madrid, historically this fixture has in general been arduous for Barcelona. Though from a purely footballing standpoint this matchup is usually a proper spectacle with a high tempo, defensive lapses and normally plenty of goals. Atlético have locked the 3rd place spot so in that sense have nothing much to play for, though this Diego Simeone has their manager’s fight to the end spirit. What could potentially play beneficially into Barça’s hands is the Copa del Rey final on Friday May 17th where the Madrid sides square off and provides the only opportunity for Atlético to pick up silverware this season.
Training, entire squad will travel to Madrid
All the members of FC Barcelona’s first team, including the injured players, will travel this Sunday to Madrid, where Barça will face Atlético Madrid (19:00). Coach Tito Vilanova has decided to bring all of his players because of the possibility of being proclaimed league champions at the Vicente Calderón.
Jordi Alba: Sunday La Liga is ours!
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
Preparations for Atlético Madrid continue
FC Barcelona continues to prepare for Sunday’s league match against Atlético Madrid (19:00). Tito Vilanova led the training session this Friday with all the available members of the first team squad, plus Juvenil A’s Sergi Samper.
Busquets: “Barça fans are proud of this team”
FC Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. He began by stating that “we’re ready to win the match on Sunday, but if [the league title] comes before then, it’ll be just as important. Winning a title is special and the league even more so.” The La Liga title, however, won’t be Barça’s just yet. Real Madrid’s 6-2 victory over Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu means Barça will have to wait to celebrate the title. Sergio underlined the importance of the title, saying that “the league is the tournament of regularity and the most important. What’s more, it would be the fourth league title in five years and that would be spectacular.”
Post-Match Review: FC Barcelona 4-2 Real Betis
Last night FC Barcelona took on seventh-place Real Betis and defeated them with an impressive, though slightly shaky, 4-2 scoreline. Betis pressed and attacked well, exposing the continuing frailties of Barcelona’s defense, but ultimately the blaugrana attack, led by Andres Iniesta and substitute Lionel Messi, proved to be too much for them.
