(Updated) The Ultimate Game: Get Inside Guardiola’s Head
This is your chance to prove not only your knowledge about the game of football, but also your psychological insight by cracking the code of Barcelona coach Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola’s master brain:
Predict Barcelona’s Starting Lineup
This is not (as in: N-O-T) a place for discussion on team tactics or personal player preferences. You just give the system and the eleven names you think will start the game against Sevilla for the second leg of Spanish Super Cup.
Results from the first round:
No winner! It seems nobody was able to guess the correct lineup. Think you’re better? Try your luck for the second round.
Join us after the jump to take part in the game.
Nine B team players in squad for Sevilla
According to the official FC Barcelona website, Guardiola has called up 19 players for the trip to Sevilla to play the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on August 14th, at 21:30, local time.
The Ultimate Game: Get Inside Guardiola’s Head
And we’re back with the second season of ‘The Ultimate Game’. This is your chance to prove not only your knowledge about the game of football, but also your psychological insight by cracking the code of Barcelona coach Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola’s master brain:
Predict Barcelona’s Starting Lineup
This is not (as in: N-O-T) a place for discussion on team tactics or personal player preferences. You just give the system and the eleven names you think will start the game against Sevilla for the first leg of Spanish Super Cup.
Join us after the jump to take part in the game.
Spanish Super Cup referees assigned
According to Catalan based newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, the Spanish Football Federation assigned the referees César Muñiz Fernández (40) and Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (38) to referee the two rounds of the Spanish Super Cup 2010 respectively.
Sevilla wanted a youth player as part of Adriano deal
Catalan sports paper Sport report that Sevilla tried the option to include a youth player in the deal involving the transfer of Adrian Correia to Barcelona.
Barcelona sign Sevilla wing-back Adriano (Update)
According to various Spanish news sources, FC Barcelona are on the verge of completing the signing of Brazilian wing-back Adriano Correia (25) from Sevilla.
Fact of the Day: To win a trophy, beat Barcelona
According to FC Barcelona’s official web site, all the teams that beat Barcelona this season eventually won trophies. For example, Sevilla won the Spanish Copa del Rey after knocking-out Barcelona in the last 16 of the competition. Inter Milan, moreover, won the Champions League title after knocking-out Barcelona as well in the semi-finals.
In another cases as well, Rubin Kazan, the team that beat Barcelona in the Champions League group stage won the Russian League, while Atletico Madrid, the only team who was able to beat Barcelona in La Liga, also picked up a trophy by winning the Europa League competition.
FC Barcelona to face Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup
Sevilla will be the team to face Barcelona in the Spanish super cup next season. The Andalusian team was able to win against Atletico Madrid (2-0) on Wedenesday night in the Copa del Rey final played at the Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana will play the second leg at their home stadium as winners of La Liga, where they will try to defend their title for the second time in a row.
Guardiola: “This is not over yet”
FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola reiterated the fact that winning against Sevilla last night brought his team a step closer to the Liga title, but they still need to win at home against Valladolid on the penultimate match of the season – a game he predicts will be difficult.
Post-Match Review: Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 2-3
It was a hilarious penultimate round. The 37th week of La Liga ended with 34 goals scored – all games being played at the same time. Eleven of these goals were divided between the two decisive games of Sevilla against Barcelona and Madrid against Bilbao.
The two teams have been chasing each other for weeks and until the last round of the season nothing is yet clear. Each ranking of the table is witnessing a competition! Five teams are fighting to stay in the first division, and four teams are fighting for a UEFA Champions League and two Europa League seats.
Man of the Match: Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 2-3
As with all fairy tales, there must be a bit of a suspense before the story ends happily ever after – until next season that is. Who was the best performer in tonight’s match against Sevilla FC, which eventually proved to be just as nerve racking as one could expect before kickoff? Give you say, after the jump.
Guardiola brings everyone to Sevilla; Pique awaits last minute clearance
FC Barcelona official website yesterday reported that Pep Guardiola will take his entire squad to Sevilla – including those still on the injured roster – for the incumbent Liga champions’ final away match of the season at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
Sevilla – Barcelona: Post match comment (UPDATED)
Several of FC Barcelonas players, including Iniesta, Xavi, Pinto and Messi took part in the press conference, after the match against Sevilla. Iniesta was disappointed with the elimination from Copa del Rey, despite their performance in the second half:
“We knew that it would be very complicated, and we tried (to get the win) for the 90 minutes but it wasn’t to be. It makes you really angry and above all seeing the second half was so one-sided.”
Guardiola: “I am sorry that I failed”
Speaking at a news conference following last night’s Copa del Rey match with Sevilla, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola did not hide his disappointment over his team’s elimination despite their 1-0 victory in Seville: “It is clear what I would have liked to happen, but things are as they are, we are out of the competition. It is not good news even if people say that we can now concentrate on La Liga and the Champions League. In sport, we are taught not to lose and this has affected us.”
Barcelona had lined up their strongest possible squad after Guardiola was heavily criticized for playing a weakened side last week in Camp Nou and, on several occasions during the match, came agonizingly close to going through to the next round. But in-form Sevilla captain and goalkeeper Andres Palop denied the Catalans in striking fashion, producing brilliant saves one after the other to ensure passage for his own team.
The Pictures: Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 0-1
As always, we have collected a series of picture from the match against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey.
The Result: Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 0-1
Despite winning 1-0 in Seville, FC Barcelona is out of the Copa del Rey, due to Sevilla’s two away goals in the first leg.
First half, was rather a disappointing affair, as Sevilla FC looked the most dangerous on the final third of the pitch, with sporadic flashes of Barcelona’s brilliance. Second half, was the exact opposite, as Guardiola worked wonders during the break, and the players looked fired up. Chance after chance was wasted, before Xavi finally broke the deadlock in 63′ minute.
One cannot count on one hand, the amount of sitters that Palop and the woodwork stopped. It was a truely magnificent display by the veteran, and Sevilla can count themselves lucky to have come away with the win over two legs, were it not for Palop’s heroics.
The Video: Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 0-1
Xavi (63′)
Live Match Stream: Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona
Can FC Barcelona mount a comeback, after last week’s 1-2 defeat against Sevilla FC? We’re about to find out, as the match kicks off at 22:00 hours, Barcelona time, at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville.
The Ratings: FC Barcelona – Sevilla FC 1-2
After last nights disappointing loss against Sevilla, find out how we rated the players performances.
Live Match Stream: FC Barcelona – Sevilla FC
We are almost ready to kickoff yet another FC Barcelona match, and this time it’s against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, in case you missed the preview. The match will begin at 22:00 hours, Barcelona time. As usual, we invite you to join our chatroom. Furthermore, you can find a few selected video streams after the jump, along with the lineup.
