Barca news round-up: transfers and all that

Negotiations with Manchester United over (Barca youth academy grad) Gerard Pique are said to be almost complete. The player has passed a medical in Barcelona and if all goes well the signing should be announced soon. [I am very pleased by this signing. Decent price, good player coming home, everybody's happy. Think of it this way: we're paying ManU for the experience he's gotten during these years away; experience he probably wouldn't have had if he had stayed.]

Seydou Keita of Sevilla has also passed his medical and completed personal negotiations with the club. Because Barca are going to pay his 14 million euro buy-out clause, Sevilla should not be a problem, since they gave him permission to go and have the medical. [Sevilla drive a hard bargain, as always. Great player, pleased to have him, especially given our needs in midfield.]

Thierry Henry reveals that he has spoken to Pep Guardiola and been told that he is wanted for next season. [Needless to say, I am very pleased by this.]

There are murmurs in the press that the board are unhappy with Messi's decision to go to the Olympics, which has been considered a 'lack of commitment'. [I'm sorry, but the board can go screw themselves. To accuse Messi of a lack of commitment to the cause would be laughable at best. Besides, he's under 23 years old, so they have no legal leg to stand on. So what are they going to do, sell him?

There's a good editorial in El Mundo Deportivo (and I don't use those words too often) on the subject.

Additionally, I would argue that showing a lack of commitment to one's national team would actually be a bad sign, of a player lacking in motivation and desire for glory - see Ronaldinho and Copa America.

Having said that, I do hope he gets in some pre-season time with Barca, since he'll have to get used to playing with quite a few newcomers.]

Edmilson gives a farewell press conference, bowing out gracefully in his usual frank style with a few thought-provoking comments and even a few tears. He's off to Villarreal. I wish him luck with his future endeavours. The official site has a look back at Edmilson's four seasons at the club.

Ronaldinho, on the other hand, has gone on vacation. So we might not even get a farewell press conference from him, let alone a farewell game, which would be a massive pity given his place in the history of the club.


[Next up, end of season awards, and a requiem for R-E-M.]

should they stay or should they go?

All signs point to major changes in the Barcelona squad next season. My (massively long, as it turns out) two cents on who should be staying and who needs to be ushered out the door below.

Keep in mind, though, that I haven't taken any economic considerations (e.g. selling X will get us some cash to spend on Y) into account.

Defence

Victor Valdes - had some blunders, but overall a decent season. The problems in defence cannot be entirely attributed to him. Keep.

Albert Jorquera - unfortunate to have missed so much of the season through an ACL injury. To be honest, though, he only ever plays cup matches and has never given Valdes a run for his money. Has signed a recent extension though, so barring any surprises he'll be staying.

Jose Manuel Pinto - Haven't played too many games, but has looked decent when he has been given opportunities, and his impressive record in the Primera before he came to Barca has convinced me that he deserves a chance. But with Jorquera having signed an extension not too long ago, I'm fairly sure he will get sent back to Celta.

Gabi Milito - his ACL injury was a massive blow. Started the season brightly and quickly cemented a leadership role in the team. His form dipped towards the end of the season, but in my opinion he was a solid purchase. Keep. (Get well soon, Gabi!)

Rafael Marquez - Rafa is that endangered species, the cultured centerback who can put in the tackles and pick out a pass. When he's on, he's brilliant. But he's been injured far too much in the last two seasons, and - more importantly - his commitment to the cause has been lacking. (Staying in Madrid to party after the Clasico defeat? Last nail in the coffin.) Sell, much as it pains me, and much as we'll struggle to replace him.

Carles Puyol - Poor old Captain Caveman. As Rijkaard once said, he's often the only man shouting in the desert in this Barca side in recent years. His commitment is unquestionable, and this team cannot do without him. Keep - or there will be rioting in the streets.

Gianluca Zambrotta - has never really hit the heights that he once reached for Juventus and Italy. It's a shame, really, because he is clearly a classy defender who can also go forward intelligently. I would love for him to stay, but all signs point toward him leaving to go back to Italy.

Sylvinho - couldn't get into the team at the start of the season when Abidal was on form, but when he did play he did a decent job. A positive influence on the younger players off the pitch as well, so I'm pleased to hear that he is negotiating a contract extension.

Lilian Thuram - still undeniably classy, but his legs have clearly gone. I would like him to stay if only because of the positive influence he has within the dressing room, much like Henrik Larsson did, but it doesn't seem possible. Will most likely be allowed to walk away.

Eric Abidal - started the season so well and ended it so badly. I'm not quite sure what happened, to be honest. He's clearly a great athlete and a wonderful player when on form, but his head went walkabout during the second half of the season. Keep - let's just hope he can get himself back on track.

Oleguer Presas - has had a horrible season, much of it disrupted by various injuries. Most fans seem to be in favour of booting him out the door, but I think he's a handy guy to have around, even if he gives me hives when he plays at right-back. Remember, he played quite a lot at center-back a couple of seasons back and that worked out okay. No idea what's going to happen to him. It's not like we'd get decent money if we sold him, and I doubt he's on much in terms of wages, so we might as well keep him around. (I confess, part of me is saying this because I want to see the book group him and Guardiola would inevitably end up forming.)

Midfield

Xavi Hernandez - this season was vice-captain Xavi's tenth at Barca. He is now the player who has appeared the most times for Barca in European competition, and inching up the all-time appearances list as well, having overtaken Pep Guardiola. One more personal record - he has scored 9 goals this season, many of them crucial. Aside from that, his passing was as dependable as ever, although he did not always manage to escape the malaise when the team were slumping. Keep, of course.

Eidur Gudjohnsen - hasn't played as much as he would have liked, and when he has played his performances have been uneven. Has shown his potential as a midfielder in some games, but in others he still looks to be on a different wave length to his team mates. Surely unhappy with being on the bench so often, a good offer would probably persuade him to leave. I'll miss him, but - sell.

Andres Iniesta - one of the most underrated players in all of Europe. I said in my review of last season that he'd come of age then. Well, if last season was his coming of age, then this season has seen him add to his already extensive set of skills and step up as one of the quiet leaders of the team while others floundered. (A minor complaint, but I do wish he'd cut out the blatant diving. It's unbecoming of a player as good as he is.) He's only 24, but has already racked up an astonishing 200 appearances for the club. Keep - he's going to be a club legend.

Edmilson - Poor old Edmilson. I can clearly remember him being a decent holding midfielder who specialised in man-marking creative players out of the game, not too long ago. A series of injuries have meant that he only played a few games this season, and that when he has played he has generally been awful. That combined with a certain ill-timed outburst this season means that he is sure to be off-loaded. Sell.

Deco - ah, Deco. He has always inspired adoration and frustration from me in equal measure. Injury problems have dogged him this season, but when he has been fully fit he has generally played well, and Barca have no other players who can do what he can. But at the same time his off-field problems have been well-documented. The booking that he picked up in the game against Valencia (most likely deliberate), forcing him to miss the Clasico was probably the last nail in his coffin. I would like for him to stay, if only because I can't see how we're going to replace him, but he's clearly going to leave. It's a shame that it has to be on such a bad note, after all he's done for Barca during the good times.

Toure Yaya - a brilliant first season where he won over the fans with his tremendous power, skill, work rate, and above all his commitment to the cause. Not going anywhere unless the Powers That Be have a sudden attack of insanity.

Forward

Santiago Ezquerro - also known as '...who?' Poor Santi. His move to Barca pretty much halted his career in its tracks, although he did get some nice silverware, a decent salary and a lot of free time in return. It's probably best for all parties involved that Santi finds a club where he's not stuck behind a 17-year-old in the pecking order. Sell.

Giovani Dos Santos - a tricky one, this. He's clearly extremely talented, and capable of being a team player. On the other hand, he's a habitual diver (and terrible at it, too, which makes it even more embarrassing), can be frustratingly individualistic, and is reportedly well on the way to diva-dom even before he's gotten good enough or famous enough to earn the attitude. His flirtations with other clubs is also unbecoming for a young player, especially one who comes from the cantera. I'd like to give him another season to impress, but if he's set on the cash being offered elsewhere, then that's just too bad.

Bojan Krkic - phenomenal. Least we all forget, he's just 17 years old. Ten goals and countless fearless performances have made him an idol of the fans, and rightly so. I am wary of too much pressure being put on his shoulders too soon, though. It is entirely unreasonable to expect someone so young and inexperienced to carry the front-line, and we all need to remember that before we criticize him. The only problem I can see is that he's a bit too lightweight right now so defenders can just bully him off the ball. Hopefully there's still a growth spurt in him somewhere - the bulking up can be done easily enough. Do I even need to say it? - Keep.

Leo Messi - worryingly, another injury-ravaged season for poor Leo. He was absolutely amazing from about September to December, when he got injured. We only got to see his brilliance in patches after that. Looked increasingly depressed as the end of the season approached even as he battled on determinedly while many around him faltered or simply gave up - and who can blame him, especially since he's so close to Ronaldinho, Deco and Frank Rijkaard, all of whom are leaving? Keep - unless the board likes the idea of being chased out of the city by an angry mob.

Samuel Eto'o - yet another unfortunately injury-ravaged season for Sammy. That, added to the after-effects of the African Cup of Nations, meant that he really lost form towards the end of the season, but even so his strike rate - 16 goals in 16 league games - is pretty amazing. The way he missed the Clasico, though, really made me angry (even though he's one of my favourite players) and lowered his standing amongst the fans considerably. On the other hand, he's still only 27, and I have faith that he can recover his form. Remember, he scored 71 goals in 100 appearances with us. While his sale would raise some money, how much would it take to buy a striker who could boast the same efficiency? Keep - at least for one more season.

Thierry Henry - while Henry has gotten a lot of abuse for his perceived inadequacies this season, I have actually grown from a sort of half-mocking fondness to quite liking him. His professionalism and refusal to get involved in dressing room infighting in particular has been commendable. (Also, this is not often said, but he sure works far harder in defence than Ronaldinho did.) Sure, some of his comments have been perceived as whining, but think about it - he's new to the league, he's unexpectedly (due to the injury to Eto'o) had to play far more games than his dodgy back is supposed to be able to handle, and he's had to adapt to Barca's way of playing. 19 goals in 39 appearances isn't actually that bad a return, in the end, and he showed some signs of finally starting to adapt towards the end of the season. I think he deserves another chance.

Ronaldinho - I've changed my mind about Ronnie so many times this season. Every time I think 'that's it, that's enough' he comes back and produces something on the pitch to make me think otherwise. I'm sure a lot of Barca fans feel the same way, if the home crowd at the Camp Nou are any indication. But finally, I think that really is enough. No one can deny what he's done for the club, and no one can deny that he's still potentially one of the greatest players ever, but I think the time for an intervention at Barca has passed. If he is to rescue his career, it will have to be somewhere else. It's sad that yet another Brazilian superstar has to exit by the back door (Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo...), but I simply can't see any other way. I'll write a longer tribute to his time at the club when the transfer goes through, but it certainly feels like I've already been saying goodbye to Ronnie for months, if not years.



By the way, most of the spine of the 04-06 side are up for contract renewals next season. Just something to think about.

And it might be a good idea to upgrade Messi's contract, too. He's not going around asking for a contract that matches his present status because he is Cule through and through and because he's not a jerk, but given that his present contract was signed before he became a regular starter, it probably needs an update.

Speaking of which, the board better have a professional contract drafted and ready to be signed by Bojan as soon as he turns 18. No one is snatching him away.

Even by the most conservative estimates (and taking into account possible new promotions from the B team) we are going to need at least 6 or 7 new players. This is going to be an interesting transfer window, that's for sure.

Barca 3 - 0 Recreativo (return of the match report)

(graphic swiped from Sport)

Any other team might be pleased to win 3-0 (especially with most players coming off two international appearances) and gain some distance on our rivals at the top of the table, but as always, Barca are our own greatest enemy. It feels like forever since I've done one of my rambling, player-by-player match reports, so here goes.

How much can one take out of a game against a side suffering second-seasonitis, who had only 26% of the possession and no shots on goal? Well, for one, it provides a good study of the difficulties Barca have had breaking down opponents who defend in numbers both home and away, and secondly our reliance on scoring the first goal.

One caveat, though: Barca's Jekyll and Hyde syndrome means that home and away performances should probably be judged by different standards. We almost always score at home (in fact, today's game was the 50th league home game in a row that Barca have scored in), contrasted with our many difficulties in that department away, and we have a 100% home record so far this season, but haven't won away since we beat Stuttgart.

defence

Difficult to find much to say about Victor Valdes, since he didn't have a lot to do, so we'll move right on.

Puyol and Milito are a great central partnership, as everybody had hoped they would be, so it was a shame when Puyol had to come off with an injury in the second half. The latest seems to be that while - thankfully - nothing is broken, Puyol is in a lot of pain (which makes sense, as he'd never have asked to come off without a serious problem), and the doctors have yet to make a decision on whether he will travel to Lyon.

Puyol's replacement, Marquez, hasn't quite regained the impervious form of 05-06, but neither has he been as bad as he was last season. Some decent play, and he's certainly a solid enough backup.

Milito had yet another good game in the blaugrana shirt. I have to say, he did cost a fair bit, but I think the purchase has been a wise one. Good central defenders are not that easy to come by these days. Great header for the goal, which is something I've seen from him several times in the Zaragoza and Argentina shirt. Hopefully he'll bring that form to Barca, too, since we're pretty dire at scoring from corners. This is our 93rd corner of the season, and the first time it has resulted in a goal. Not good stats.


The ESPN commentator for the Barca-Rangers game bitterly criticised Abidal and claimed - laughably - that he'd been very disappointing since joining. I don't know what he's been watching, but the general consensus amongst the fans and the press has certainly been that he's been a good signing who has performed the way we would want: good play going forward, solid defending. And so it was for this game. I didn't like him losing his temper and barging into a Recre player (in response to Recre refusing to put the ball out of play after Iniesta had gone down), especially while the team were 2-0 up, though. Not a wise move - what if he got sent off?

Is it just me, or has Zambrotta looked a bit off-colour in the last couple of games? I know he's coming off an injury, but he just hasn't looked quite right this season, especially going forward, and the neat inter-play that had developed between him and Messi by the end of last season has been missing. Still more reliable than Oleguer (who came on and did a decent job), but I'm starting to worry.

midfield

Another thing I'm starting to worry about: what are we going to do when Yaya Toure, who has provided a crucial link between defence and attack for us, goes off to the African Cup of Nations? Hope that Marquez is fit and well, I suppose, since Gudjohnsen's recent stint in midfield has gone downhill after starting well.

In this game, Guddy was playing a bit further forward - in the attacking midfield role he sometimes filled for Chelsea. He worked very hard, and deserves credit for that, but all the same old problems of last season still remain, namely: his ability to take chances is not great, and he's slow on the ball.

Xavi certainly struggled to partner him effectively, especially compared to his almost telepathic understanding with the injured Deco. As Marca pointed out, our third captain may not be a flashy player, but his contributions have always been vital to our performances, mostly via his passing. Had a hand in 2 of the 3 goals.

Iniesta started the game playing on the wing, but ended it playing in his natural midfield position, so I'll put him here. He was Barca's most effective player in the first 20 minutes in which the team laboured to create chances and continued trying to speed up the play and make the breakthrough in the rest of the game. Once he went back to midfield to partner Xavi, the forwards got much better service. By the way, he really is an excellent dribbler - one of the best at Barca, and that's saying a lot.

forwards

I have a confession to make: I don't know what Premier League fans are talking about when they say that Henry is a lazy player. He's worked pretty hard in every Barca game I've seen this season (and I've seen almost every game, even the friendlies), not only in attack but tracking back, tackling and harrying. An unselfish assist for Bojan's goal, and it's good to see how pleased he was about it, too - he couldn't have looked happier if he'd scored it. Speaking of which, there were a couple of opportunities in which he could probably have taken a shot instead of passing it, and if he weren't Thierry bloody Henry I'd say he's losing his shooting confidence. Almost every single refereeing decision went against him as well, which couldn't have been very fun. Just because he's a big, tall forward (by La Liga standards) doesn't mean he was fouling every time, dammit.

Before I talk about Messi, a couple of wise words from Guillem Balague on the recent heavy criticism of him in the press:

...to have a go at Messi doesn't make sense because he has only had two bad games. Messi has had a year with hardly any rest and has been playing at a very, very high level.

Yeah, what he said. I was worried that Messi would be tired, having played the full 90 minutes in Argentina's 2 qualifiers, one of them at altitude and with Argentina down to 10 men for most of the game. He did look a bit tired at the beginning, but gradually came into it a bit more and became Barca's most threatening player, which meant that Recre devoted 2 players to marking him, with mixed success: he did create some good chances, but either the player on the receiving end wasted them (Zambrotta, Gudjohnsen, Henry), or he wasted them himself. Messi's passing continues to improve, and while one of his free kicks was rubbish, the other was quite good. (I'll be honest, whenever we get a free kick, I really start missing Ronaldinho and Deco.) The major problem now where Messi is concerned seems to be that his link-up play with Henry and Bojan isn't as good as it could be. Understandably, not much can match the interplay born of familiarity of the Ronaldinho-Eto'o-Messi front line, but there certainly could be some improvement to the current state of things.

Bojan continues to amaze. Here's a scary reminder: the kid's 17. What a cool finish, and his appearance certainly disrupted the Recre defense, with his speed on the ball if nothing else. He kind of reminds me of Messi a couple of seasons ago - a bit too individualistic, and he hasn't quite figured out when to pass and when to shoot, but that will come with experience. I'm certain he wouldn't shrink from a big occasion, either, to judge from his coolness in front of goal.

other observations

Good substitution by Rijkaard, taking off Gudjohnsen for Bojan. Not quite sure why he took Zambrotta off, but maybe we'll find that out in the next couple of days.

Because Barca played well when Ronaldino was injured near the beginning of the season, a lot of people are inclined to blame him for all Barca's problems. They do have a point, especially since Barca put in a few good performances when he was missing last season as well. However, not having Ronnie in this game didn't seem to make the team any less lethargic, although I suppose the fact that this game came straight after an international break may have had something to do with that. So, inconclusive on that front.

However, I think we've all seen what the two major injured players bring to the team by the effect their absence has had. I've said it enough times, but I don't mind repeating it: Samuel Eto'o drives the entire team forward with both his play and his mentality, and the same goes for Deco. Without both of them, we lack aggression, determination, and a bit of a cutting edge.

I see Sport are in full 'we hate everything about our team, except that one 17 year old, who should play all the time, and maybe sometimes that little Argentine we just trashed for having one bad game' mode. Great. (It's absurd to say Bojan was Barca's best player, guys, since he only played about 30 minutes, and while he had an impact, I'm not sure it was enough to override the 90 minute performances of players like Iniesta and Messi.)

Barca roundup: the 'I'm not dead!' edition

Exams are over (hooray!) and I'm back, although currently preoccupied with...well, life in general. To be honest, I've just been thinking a lot, and there's a couple of posts I want to make about coaching styles, quotas in European leagues, and all that. But it's Barca that's really been frustrating me. Anyway, news first.

international round-up

France, Italy, Spain and Portugal have all qualified for Euro 2008, meaning that there will potentially be 8 Barca players at the tournament.

Thierry Henry scored in France's game with Ukraine (2-2), which was a bit of a formality given Italy's earlier victory over Scotland.

All three Barca players played in Spain's excellent 3-0 win over Sweden, with Xavi and Iniesta in particular praised for their great performances. Iniesta scored Spain's second and Xavi was once again applauded off the pitch at the Bernabeu. (By the way, though I still dislike Aragones, congratulations to Spain for qualifying in such style in the end. What a group of young talent.)

Iniesta and Xavi also started in Spain's 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, in which the entire first-string defence (including Puyol) was rested, with captain Xavi scoring the deflected winner.

Zambrotta played in Italy's crucial 1-2 victory against Scotland but was kindly rested in the last game against the Faroe Islands.

Eidur Gudjohnsen played in Iceland's 3-0 defeat at the hands of the footballing giants of Liechtenstein.

Bojan Krkic scored once again and played well in the Spanish U21 side's 3-0 victory over Poland. Remember, the kid's still only 17. Astonishing talent.

Speaking of which, Leo Messi and Gabi Milito both played the full 90 mintues in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Bolivia and 1-2 defeat against Columbia. Messi played well in both games, scoring a great opener against Columbia while the team were down to 10 men. Milito struggled in the Columbia game once Tevez was sent off, but played fairly well against Bolivia.

Ronaldinho played the full 90 minutes in Brazil's 1-1 draw with Peru but only 60 minutes of their 2-1 victory over Uruguay, in which both he and Robinho were apparently booed by the Brazilian fans when substituted. Geez, Ronnie really can't get a break anywhere.

injury update

Good news: Deco's back and running, but he still needs time to heal and get fit. Even better news: Samuel Eto'o has started training with a ball again.

other (mostly cheerful) news

Congratulations to Andres Iniesta, who recently celebrated his 5 year anniversary in the first team squad by telling the press that he'd like to retire at Barca. I believe you, Andres.

Congratulations also to Victor Valdes for now holding the record for the longest time a Barca goalie has gone without conceding in Europe at 466 minutes and counting. Barca have yet to concede in the Champions League this season, and this added to the clean sheet kept (fortuitously, it must be said) against Liverpool last season in the return leg means that Valdes has broke the previous record which was 406 minutes and has stood for more than 30 years. (It's a bit of a reflection on how leaky defences, especially in Europe, are a Barca tradition to be honest.)

Frank Rijkaard made some interesting observations regarding Leo Messi recently, the most interesting of which is this: he believes that Messi will move to an attacking midfield position in the future. Rijkaard also talked about the progress Messi has made in the past few seasons, mainly in tactical discipline and awareness.

Lilian Thuram recently spoke to the 60 kids at La Masia on his experiences. He emphasised the importance of education, reminded the kids to always ask 'why', and urged them to focus on Iniesta as an example to be followed, both as as player and as a person.

less cheerful news aka perpetual state of 'crisis'

As much as I am angered by the attempts of the press - and I'm not even talking the Madrid press, just the Barca rags - to fan the flames of a supposed 'crisis' which leaves Barca a massive 4 points off the league leaders, at least some members are still trying to do their job. El Pais has a good summary of the latest goings on, which mostly concern the ever-honest Edmilson opening his big mouth once again and leading to the press going off on a merry round of speculation about who he meant by the 'black sheep' of the Barca family.

Out of the players who have come out and defended Rijkaard recently - Puyol, Messi, Eto'o to name a couple - Puyol was most scathing in his assessment of the players' own responsibility, and Messi was the most forthright in telling the press to back off in their attempts to bait Rijkaard.

Now, I'm very fond of Frank Rijkaard. I think he's a class act who has the rare poise needed to deal with the hysteria that often surrounds Barca, and someone who really understands players. For example, Bojan Krkic spoke a little while ago about how Rijkaard always knows what to say and when and how to say it.

One of the qualities I most admire in Rijkaard is his unflinching acceptance of blame for every setback and defeat. However, admiring it doesn't mean I agree with it. As Puyol said, it's wrong to blame the manager entirely given the culpability of the players in the performance.

(On the subject of away form, I'd like to note that Barca didn't win away for about 4 months last season, or in other words for most of the time that Samuel Eto'o was out injured. And I'd also like to note that Barca were level on points with Real Madrid, the champions, at the end of the season.)

As a Barca fan, I'm used to the hysteria that surrounds every defeat and every setback. But you know what made me really angry? The Barcelona media's Mourinho stunt. I find it really hard to believe that a large majority of Barca fans would want Mourinho to replace Rijkaard. Leaving aside the animosity, we all know that the Camp Nou is capable of turning its collective nose up at trophies if they're not won in sufficient style. (As if Mourinho hasn't had enough of that demand with Roman at Chelsea.) Also: how personally insulting is it to Rijkaard to suggest such a thing, given the evens of the past 3 seasons?


More on the away form issue later.

Barca news ahead of the Villarreal game

Club football is back with a bang with some interesting games in Spain this weekend and the return of the Champions League midweek, amidst the sound of club coaches grumbling about their charges returning injured (poor Arjen Robben) or tired.

Internationals

Gabi Milito and Leo Messi scored the goals for Argentina as they beat Venezuela away to top the qualifying table with 6 points. Hasta El Gol Siempre has a match report, and I definitely recommend checking out Messi's goal.

Congratulations to Thierry Henry who broke Michel Platini's record to become the leading scorer in France's history. He scored both goals as France made hard work out of beating Lithuania by dominating but not breaking the deadlock until late on. The second in particular was very nice. Eric Abidal and Lilian Thuram also played.

Spain played a (brilliantly timed) friendly against Finland which was described by the press as a training match. (It was a 0-0 draw, naturally.) Puyol, Iniesta and Xavi all played 45 minutes.

Deco played 90 minutes yet again for Portugal as they beat Kazakhstan 2-1 in a victory which was reportedly more laboured than the 2-0 win over Azerbaijan. (If Portugal somehow contrive to miss out from a group featuring such luminaries, then there should be an inquest. Happily, they appear to now be on course.)

Eidur Gudjohnsen played for Iceland as they went down 3-0 (!) to Liechtenstein. Oh dear.

Ronaldinho played and scored in Brazil's 5-0 victory over Ecuador in the Maracana stadium. This was a much needed result for them after the way they played against Columbia, and apparently Ronnie is starting to look a bit better.

Giovani Dos Santos played the first 45 minutes for Mexico as they went down 2-3 to Guatemala. To be fair to him, Mexico only began to collapse in the second half, although I've heard conflicting things about his performance.

Villarreal v Barca

The big story of this game is the reunion of old Arsenal and France pals Robert Pires and Thierry Henry. So we've got Pires being encouraging and positive about Henry, as he's been since the beginning, while warning team mates to watch out for that Messi guy too. The official site has an article detailing the past history between the two, and UEFA.com's preview also focuses on them.

Problem: Ronaldinho didn't even make the Friday training sesson, so he's obviously in no condition to play 90 minutes on Saturday. Worryingly, his natural substitute Giovani doesn't get back until Friday either, although he did make training. If Yaya Toure were fit, the easy solution would be to play Iniesta in Ronnie's left-wing position, but he's not, so that won't work either. Ronnie has been left out of the squad, which is probably a wise decision, given that it will keep him fresh for the Rangers game, but I'm not sure what the alternatives are going to be in this game.

Villarreal were the last side to defeat Barca, the 2-0 result in El Madrigal perfectly summing up the malaise of last season. Ironically, that game sent Villarreal on their amazing winning run which lasted for 8 matches - straight to the end of the season. To be fair, Frank Rijkaard's Barca has often found Villarreal away a difficult game to deal with. I have painfully vivid memories of the 3-0 thrashing in the 04-05 season orchestrated by one Juan Roman Riquelme.

Other news

Barcelona have drawn CD Alcoyano of the Spanish third division in the Copa del Rey. The official website also has this great story about a Barca B game against Alcoyano: In the 2005/06 season, Alcoyano and Barça B took part in a bizarre match that saw Barça B travel to Alcoy on no less than three occasions to complete the 90 minutes. First the Barça B party had to return from Alcoy after the match was suspended due to heavy snowfall. At the second attempt the match was once again suspended in the 50th minute after a technical fault left the El Collao stadium without electricity. It was a case of third time lucky for Alcoyano, who finally won the match 2-0.

Samuel Eto'o is now a Spanish citizen, which means that the only non-EU player on the roster is Yaya Toure.

There's an interesting interview with Thierry Henry from the New York Times, where he talks about his charity work, the differences between Spain and England, and his love for Basketball amongst other things.

Update on Giovani's contract situation: the boy himself says that negotiations will probably be completed in November or December, if things go according to plan.

Txiki gave a recent interview in which he said that the club were looking to give Messi and probably Iniesta a better contract. Messi's dad and agent Jorge has come out and said that they're not actually too bothered about a new, better contract, which is about the first time I've heard that from an agent.

Barca round-up: internationals, Villarreal, and other news

I've got exams coming up yet again, so expect less posting for the next 3 weeks or so. Pity, it's such an exciting time.

Internationals round-up

Att Luis Aragones: if you're going to fly Puyol out to Denmark and then say he's not fit when he patently is, then just leave him in Spain next time and save him the travelling. No need to take him along if he's not fit as you claim, after all.

Good to see the Barca duo of Iniesta and Xavi both playing well and contributing in Spain's 1-3 victory over the Danes.

Actually, let me just detour for a moment:

I don't like Luis Aragones. I think his decisions are often boneheaded and that he needs to never open his mouth in public. However, I personally feel that the way the media have talk about the absences from the squad have been very disrespectful to the excellent players who were selected and deserved their shot. Case in point, Raul Tamudo, who had a great season last time around and has started brightly after coming back from injury this time. Just because he doesn't play for one of the big two doesn't mean he's not good enough for Spain. Espanyol have been playing well anyway, and credit to Aragones for reflecting that in calling up 3 of their players. While I'm at it, credit also for finally playing Cesc, Xavi and Iniesta together.

(Or you could go and read Sid Lowe's new column, which makes the same points I did, except in a better, actually amusing way.)

Thierry Henry got his 41st goal for France in their 0-6 win over the Faeroe Islands, thus equalling the record set by the great Michel Platini and becoming his country's leading goalscorer. Abidal and Thuram also played the entire game, Abidal - rather unusually - as a centerback.

Congratulations to Deco, who got his 50th cap for Portugal and had a hand in the first goal to set them on their way to a vital victory over, er, Azerbaijan. Seriously, though, Portugal needed those points.

Eidur Gudjohnsen scored a brace but couldn't prevent Iceland from going down to a 2-4 defeat against Latvia. Good to see him fit and firing again. In fact, congratulations are due because his goals have made him Iceland's leading scorer with 19.

Bojan scored his first goal for the U21s as they beat Poland 2-0 in a European Championship qualifier.

Leo Messi and Gabi Milito helped Argentina to a 2-0 home victory against Chile in their opening World Cup qualifier. (For more on the Argentines, my ramblings on them are now located at the Argentina World Cup Blog.)

Brazil - featuring our very own Ronaldinho for the first time in a while - were by all reports unimpressive as they drew 0-0 against Columbia away. Admittedly, not an easy fixture, so it's not a bad result at all, but the performance certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Mexico also drew their friendly against Nigeria 2-2, with Giovani Dos Santos winning the penalty which Cacho converted into their second.

Villarreal matters

Our first game back is a difficult one, against high-flying Villarreal, who only slipped up last week because they were visiting Osasuna, where Barca couldn't score. We have had problems with this game before, especially in El Madrigal, with last season's defeat there a particularly traumatic result given the situation at the time. The fixture list after that is a pretty gruelling one, especially since the game after this one is in Glasgow against Rangers, but we'll get to that later.

Robert Pires, for one, cannot wait for face his old friend Thierry Henry for the first time in a decade. A wonderful player who is in great form, and a bit of a Madridista himself, so he'll be extra motivated.

Speaking of Thierry, there's a new great, lengthy interview with him - especially recommended for Arsenal fans, actually, even if you were stung by his departure. As for this Barca supporter, I found it quite endearing, even if I'm never going to agree with him about his version of events in that Paris final.

Other club news

Fortunately for Frank Rijkaard, Bojan only had one game to play, and he's back in Barcelona, giving the coach a whopping 4 players to work with. A bit threadbare, I think you'll agree. Those four: Valdes, Ezquerro, Sylvinho, and the returning Bojan. Oh yeah, there's also A team part-timer Marc Crosas, who was actually injured for a couple of days, which temporarily left Barca in the ridiculous position of having no fit holding midfielders at all, despite having four of them on the books. In any case, he's now fit, but we currently have no rightbacks, since Oleguer's not been feeling well lately either. He's still working on a specific recovery program, alongside backup keeper Jorquera, who I assume picked up a knock in training. No wonder Rijkaard let B team coach Guardiola take combined training for a couple of days.

I'm getting a little antsy about Giovani's contract situation. The rules state that players can't sign a professional contract until they're 18 years old, and until then they can be bought for very little (I believe the extra sum is 20 million euros in this case), hence the quick action being taken to offer Giovani a contract as soon as he turned 18 and joined the first team. The boy himself says that negotiations are on-going, which is good to hear, but my worries won't be appeased until he puts pen to paper. (And no, AS, this does not mean he's going to Real Madrid. The boy himself says it would be wrong for him as a Barca-developed player, and I believe him.)

Speaking of young talent, October 16 was the day Leo Messi made his offical debut for Barcelona 3 years ago, in the last 10 minutes of the Barcelona derby at Espanyol, and since then, Barca fans have been lucky enough to witness the development of a very special player. In that time, he has played 78 games for Barca (including quite a few substitute appearances), scoring 34 goals and giving the fans plenty to shout about. Still only 20 years of age, so hopefully we will get to enjoy his skills for years to come. Congratulations to him.

There were 7 Barca players on the FIFA World Player of the Year list. This award, I should point out, is largely being given for performance during last season, which makes it hard to crow about the number of nominees when I can remember how some of them played back then.

Apparently Samuel Eto'o has been coming down to the changing room before games to see the players, according to Victor Valdes. By the way, it's nice to see him actually attend games, which is something that I feel injured players who are in the city and mobile enough to get around should try to do. But that's just a personal preference.


Lastly, Gonzalo, I think it's gotten to the point where Laporta has usurped Calderon's lovingly granted title of President Tourettes. Lord.

Barca 3 - 0 Atletico, presswatch and other news

(I've recently taken over the Argentina World Cup Blog, so that's where all Argentina-related posts will go in the future.)

Atletico were the last team to beat Barca at Camp Nou in the league back in February of 2006. Since then, Barca have gone 30 games undefeated at home, of which 22 were victories. So you could say that this was a bit of a test.

positives

• The midfield, especially Deco, who has regained the form of his first season and is once again the complete player, and Iniesta, who has really taken to the holding midfield role with intelligence and aplomb.
• Messi's amazing run continues. It's worth pointing out that he has now scored 20 goals in his last 23 games for Barca, starting with that hat-trick against Real Madrid in March, but the biggest difference between the Messi of this season and, say, two years ago is that he can now take on the responsibility of carrying the team forward.
• Whisper it, but Ronaldinho is starting to look fitter. I don't want to tempt fate, because we've had so many false dawns before, but maybe, just maybe, he is going to be fully fit soon.
  
• Puyol looks great after his comeback from injury, and the much-anticipated partnership with Milito seemed to work like a charm.
• Oleguer has played well since Zambrotta got injured. Shocking, I know. But since we went through the double-winning season with him playing rightback in almost all the big games, you'd think more people would remember that he is a decent player - not great, certainly not as good as Zambrotta, but not that bad either.

negatives

• Glad as I am that the '3 little ones' midfield is working, we've got a problem coming up quite soon: Deco is on 4 yellows. What are we going to do when he gets suspended?
• took our foot off the pedal when 2-0 up: dangerous hint of complacency?
  

Barca now have their 6th consecutive victory and are unbeaten so far this season, which sounds pretty impressive but as Frank Rijkaard would no doubt point out it wasn't easy.

It is interesting that, as usual, he has been keen to criticise the players for their lapses in victory, this time about losing concentration in the second half. This is part of what I like about him - when we lose or draw, he doesn't get overly negative, and when we win, he never gets carried away.

Javier Aguirre was classy as always in defeat, crediting Barca while refusing to blame poor old goalkeeper Christian Abbiati for his blunder.

Lastly, this match was notable because it finished with 8 home-grown Barca players on the pitch, and that was just on our side. (Atletico's Luis Garcia being yet another Barca youth product.) Given that those 8 players were Valdes, Oleguer, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Giovani and Bojan, the cantera certainly looks to be in good health.

other news

Puyol, Messi and Ronaldinho have been named in the FIFPro World XI for the 06/07 season, which makes Barca the best represented team in the XI and tells us that these guys are very popular, if nothing else, since the vote is taken amongst their peers. I say that because neither Ronaldinho nor Puyol (much as I love him) were at their best last season, both for fitness reasons. Messi, well, I think there's little question that he is deserving.

13 players have been called away on international duty. Unlike Laporta, I will not say that player should take it easy, but here's hoping that everyone returns fit and ready to play. Here are the call-ups:

• France (Euro qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania): Thuram, Henry and Abidal
• Spain (Euro qualifier against Denmark and friendly against Finland): Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta
• Portugal (Euro qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan): Deco
• Iceland (Euro qualifiers against Latvia and Liechtenstein): Gudjohnsen (who is apparently fit again)
• Spain U21 (Euro qualifier against Poland): Bojan
• Argentina (World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Venezuela): Messi and Milito
• Brazil (World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Ecuador): Ronaldinho
• Mexico (friendlies against Nigeria and Guatemala): Giovani
  

I previously mentioned Cesc Fabregas' comments about how Henry intimidated the other players at Arsenal. (I should probably make it clear that the comments were made in a friendly spirit and that Henry himself agreed with Cesc.) It is funny how his role has changed at Barca, though, because while still playing a guardian role to the youngsters, he's no longer the one great star. This has been echoed in his latest comments, which I found interesting:

"I learn so much every day playing and training alongside people like Lionel Messl, Samuel Eto'o or Ronaldinho," he said."But Thuram is also still doing it and I use that to gain inspiration too."

He also made a good point about the work put in by the squad, which is not always recognised when people talk about stylish victories:

"It is a great team when you win. We have extraordinary players and everyone is talking about us," he continued."But even with all those great players it is not always easy."

Lastly: scoring poll, anyone? Who's going to score first, Giovani or Bojan?

Presswatch

Phil Ball on fine form about Valencia's problems and a history lesson on Levante; the ever-amusing Sid Lowe on Barca-Atletico; Tim Stannard of La Liga Loca with a great rant about the current Spanish TV dispute that is depriving audiences all over the world of some fine football; and a nice article on the FIFA website about the Messi-Aguero rivalry and friendship and their respective rises to fame and fortune.

non-Barca news

This is actually kind of Barca related - club legend Hristo Stoichkov has left second divison club Celta Vigo for 'personal reasons'. The press says he was sacked, but the club president maintains that is not the case.

The UEFA Cup draws are out. Atletico have a reasonable draw in Group B, with Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Copenhagen and Aberdeen. Villarreal have AEK Athens, Fiorentina, Mlada Boleslav and Elfsborg in Group C. Finally, Getafe rounds out the Spanish teams in Group G, where they will face Anderlecht, Tottenham Hotspur, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Aalborg.

Barca news ahead of the Stuttgart game and a quick update on the Phoenix

I picked a bad time to be away, didn't I? Events in the past week have been strangely reminiscent of the 04-05 season: great play, great sense of team spirit, tons of injuries. Perhaps it's a good omen, as Barca won the title that time, but I hope the squad remember that they did it by sticking together and working hard through the bad patches.

Here's an amazing statistic: it's been 10 months since we last won 4 in a row. 10 months! That goes some way to explaining why last season was a failure, doesn't it?

I liked this from the Independent:

When over 20,000 people turn up to see you sign, you want to give them what they want. Scoring three times on a ground where in the last two seasons Barça have only been able to pick up a point was a good way to start delivering.

Exactly right, and thank you, Titi. I can't help but think about what would have happened if he had signed a season earlier and been there when Eto'o got injured then, but I suppose it's just great to have him now in Sammy's absence.

Other related matters:

• Henry and Messi have really hit it off.
  
• A very happy birthday to Frank Rijkaard, who turned 45 and was able to celebrate with a victory.
• Henry did a bit of his post-match interview in Spanish, and was apparently pretty good.
• Congratulations to captain Puyol on his return. Hopefully his form will return with a bit more game time.
• Fair play to the Levante fans, who applauded Messi off the pitch. I believe they're the second (non-Barca) Spanish club to do so, after the wonderful fans of Cadiz a few seasons ago, who I still miss. (Come back to the top flight soon, guys!)

team news

Unfortunately, Gianluca Zambrotta is going to be out for a month with a torn muscle. This is a big blow given the sale of Belletti during the last transfer window. Having Oleguer and no one else in the rightback position for a month is not an ideal situation, much as I like the Catalan.

In the same vein, and arguably even more importantly, Yaya Toure is also out for a month with torn femoral biceps. Thankfully it seems that Marquez will be fit enough to take over the defensive midfield position for the next month, but Toure has really made this position his own and this is a bad time for him to get injured. On the other hand, Marquez does have cover - albeit inexperienced cover - in the shape of the uncanny Guardiola lookalike, young Marc Crosas.

Speaking of Toure, he has publicly apologized for injuring Zaragoza's Matuzalem with what was an unacceptably dangerous tackle. Having already made an apology to the player in private after the game, Toure wanted to make it clear that he had "not come to Spain to be dirty, but to play football", and I believe him. The tackle was wrong, but Toure's response has been impeccable.

Congratulations to Carles Puyol on a big occasion: the 29 year old will play his 350th game for Barca against Stuttgart.

Speaking of which, here's the squad list. It does include Ronaldinho, Marquez and Gabi Milito (who requires more tests before he'll be cleared to play), and doesn't include Yaya Toure, Gianluca Zambrotta, Samuel Eto'o, Edmilson (injured) and poor old Santi Ezquerro (rested).

Presswatch

Coverage of the weekend from Sid Lowe (general round-up and Real) and Phil Ball (on Messi, 'the best player in the world'). As always, well worth reading. And Pete Jenson from the same Independent article quoted above on Henry, Messi, and Rijkaard's birthday.

The lecturer of my media class just said: "the media is not interested in anything positive. They're only interested in confrontation and negativity." Admittedly, he was talking about politics, but it applies equally to football. Sid and Phil are consistently good because they're balanced, interesting, and at the same time not obsessed with negativity and sensationalism.

Wellington Phoenix 4 - 1 Perth Glory

Congratulations to the Phoenix on their first ever home victory, which moves them up to 4th in the table. Great stuff, especially from Brazilian midfielder Daniel. When I was in Wellington, I was impressed by all the advertising around town for the Phoenix's games and the team's visibility, compared to what the late lamented Knights had in Auckland. The fans impressed me too, making a right old racket in the Cake Tin (otherwise known as Westpac Stadium) even though they only numbered about 10000. Very good signs for the team in general.

3 apologies and 2 thank yous (a quick note on Barca)

Dear Thierry Henry:

I'm sorry I ever thought you had lost your spark forever. I'm glad you play for us.


Dear Yaya Toure:

I'm sorry I doubted your suitability for the defensive midfield position. You have been wonderful. Get well soon!


Dear Txiki Begiristain:

I was wrong, and I apologize. You have signed well this time. Please continue in this vein.


Dear Frank Rijkaard:

I never doubted you, and I never will. Thanks for being a class act.


Dear Leo Messi:

Thank you for being unpretentious, and modest, and fantastic.


I'm now back from Wellington - which was great fun - so expect some catch up posts soon, including one about the Argentina squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Let's just say I'm not too impressed.

Barca v Sevilla, Nou Camp Nou and the Ronaldinho crisis

Barca 2 - 1 Sevilla

A very important win for Barca, especially given the pre-game celebrations for the 50th birthday of that beautiful stadium, the Camp Nou.

positives

• Henry looks better with every game. Desperately unlucky for the nth time in front of goal, but as the man said himself, give him a month to get fitter and used to the team.
• The new signings have really toughened up the defence.
• Andres Iniesta. He's been a victim of the good form of Xavi and Deco, which is a bit unfair given just how consistently good he's been.
  
• Leo Messi. As Hernan Crespo once said, 'a promise that's turning into reality'.

negatives

• Oleguer. Oh dear. I appreciate that it's not easy to come into a game late on having not played for a couple of weeks, but it's hard to avoid the conclusion that had he not come on, Barca might not have had to endure a late scare.
• Ronaldinho - more on which in the next section.
  

Sevilla president Del Nido said that Barca deserved to win and that they had no complaints about the defeat (which frankly caused me to wonder if he's had a personality transplant), but the statement made in the spirit of fair play is very much appreciated. Coach Juande Ramos was fair and gracious, as always.

I thought Frank Rijkaard's post-game comments were very appropriate, and especially liked his remark on Messi's goal celebration.

other news

The big one in terms of the club is the unveiling of the plans for the renovation of the Camp Nou. The Guardian also has a nice piece on the news. Some of the details on the new facilities are great. Personally, I have come to like it almost in spite of myself. It's daring and different, and that's as it should be. If you're a sceptical Barca supporter, give it time. You may come to change your mind like I did. My personal favourite thing about the current Camp Nou - the open bowl shape - will unfortunately be lost, but it's a small price to pay for a roof for the watching faithful. Come to think of it, it is rather strange that one of the best stadiums in Europe leaves the majority of its spectators to get rained on.

Congratulations are due to Deco, who will play his 100th league game for Barca against Zaragoza, barring any misfortune.

However, the big story of Barca v Zaragoza has to be the duel of the Milito brothers, who have gone their separate ways club-wise once again after 2 seasons of playing on the same team. Hopefully we won't see a repeat of the incident in one of the Racing-Independiente derbies they contested on opposite sides back in Argentina, in wich Diego (the older of the brothers, incidentally) demanded that Gaby be sent off for a rough tackle on him.

presswatch

Great writing as always from the usual suspects on La Liga: Sid Lowe on Ronaldinho, the stadium and Messi, and Phil Ball on the same issues. Also, for once someone makes sense at goal.com, also on Ronaldinho.

Nou Camp Nou

While I agree with Phil on the increasingly embarrassing and erratic behaviour of that megalomaniac Joan Laporta, I find his lament on the corportisation of Barcelona strange, to say the least. Surely it's far too late for that? It's a sad fact of life for fans of top-flight football in any major league, after all. Additionally, renovating a 50-year-old stadium to ensure comfort for the spectators and better access for the disabled, amongst other things, doesn't seem terribly wrong to me. Again, it now seems slightly ridiculous that a stadium which aspires to be one of the best in Europe has no roof, leaving the majority of fans to get drenched on rainy match days.

Ronaldinho

Any discussion on Ronaldinho must begin with one statement of fact: as Sylvinho said a few years ago, 'he's important for Barcelona on and off the field'.

On the field, he has, as Laporta, Rijkaard and several players pointed out this week, changed the history of the club. Enough said.

Off the field, he has bought many new fans to the club all over the world (especially amongst the young) and serves as a great recruitment tool for the Barcelona youth system in South America along with Messi.

What the board have had to consider is the effect of selling Ronaldinho on Barcelona both those fronts, especially if his form is, as Rijkaard said, 'recoverable'.

(What frankly amazes me is the sheer power of the Ronaldinho brand - the (British) commentators kept telling me during the game against Lyon that he was the best thing since sliced bread when that was evidently not what was happening on the pitch. Which I suppose just demonstrates my point.)

As Phil points out in his article, this whole business with his injury has been more than a little distasteful. However, it must be said this does not actually appear to be an attempt to cover up him being dropped for being out partying 48 hours before the game against Osasuna. Why? Well, apparently Ronnie protested his innocence over the partying incident to Rijkaard, who said that he believed him. So it would be inconsistent of the club to administer a punishment.

Secondly, it was apparently Ronaldinho himself who offered up injury as a reason for not playing against Sevilla. So any cover-up originated within his own camp. Now, is he actually injured? Maybe. What is clear is that after his lack of discipline last season was covered up by Barca (that whole 'he's not missing training, he's in the gym' thing), some people have had enough and no longer trust either him or the club when they announce his status.

What is also clear is that Ronaldinho has a fair bit of support within the dressing room, although not as much as he used to with the departures of Belletti and Motta, and Rijkaard has given him his full public backing. With that in mind, I applaud the Dutchman's actions in taking Ronnie off in previous games when he hasn't looked fully fit and up for it. If anybody doesn't play well, it's logical that they get taken off to have a rest, while a (hopefully) more effective player comes on. So why the fuss when it happens to Ronaldinho? After all, wasn't one of the reasons for the dressing room unrest last season the appearance of the club having one set of rules for Ronnie and one set for everybody else?

That said, I'm not ready to give up on him just yet (although as you can probably tell, my patience is running out), keeping in mind what he has contributed to the club in the past 4 seasons. Remember, 3 games ago everybody loved him. I know us Barca fans can be fickle sometimes, but that's taking it a bit far.


P.S.: I will be travelling to fair Wellington this weekend, home of Wellington Phoenix of the A-league, of course. Unfortunately I won't have time to catch a game while I'm there, though. Enjoy the football, and posting will resume as normal when I get back.

Barca news round-up: what a difference a day makes

Barcelona 3-0 Lyon

Positives

• 3 points against arguably our most difficult rival in the group
• Messi continues to improve all aspects of his game
• Henry really needed that goal
• Great to see Giovani and Bojan get their Champions League debut
• That defence: Zambrotta-Marquez-Milito-Abidal. Excellent, and they should start every game until Puyol is fully fit. Lyon only had one shot on goal.
  
• Deco has really responded to the pressure (credit to Rijkaard for motivating him once again), Xavi is as tidy as ever, and Iniesta is just brilliant. It's a hard choice for the coach to make, having to pick two out of three.
  
• Toure has made a great start to his Barca career, really earning the admiration of the fans with his work rate and skill. Same with Abidal.
  

Negatives

• Far too wasteful in attack. So many great chances went begging before Messi's goal.
• Ronaldinho still doesn't look quite right. I believe his substitution was the correct decision.
• Henry also looks a bit off the pace, although that should change as he gets used to the way Barca play.
  

news

The bidding to renovate the Camp Nou has been won by prestigious architects Norman Foster. The plans include the addition of another 10000 seats, taking the stadium capacity to a ridiculous 110000 and is expected to cost 250 million euros.

Congratulations to Xavi, who equalled the club record for most number of appearances in international competition with his 85th match for the club in UEFA and FIFA club competitions. Remember, he's only 27. The Catalan had this to say about the honour:

"It is a beautiful number to help celebrate an important win," smiled the 27-year-old Spanish international midfielder. "I still feel young. I feel important within this squad and the fans continue to show me great affection.

I damn well hope the club continues to make the third captain of the squad feel important. He's a hugely underrated player and always wonderful to watch.

Congratulations are also due to Bojan Krkic, who became the youngest player ever to play in the Champions League not only for Barca, but in the history of the competition at the age of 17 years and 22 days. The previous Barca record holder was the man who he replaced, Leo Messi, who was an ancient 17 years, 5 months and 13 days when he started the game against Shaktar Donetsk 3 years ago.

Lastly, it gives me great pleasure to announce that club captain Carles Puyol is finally back in full training with the rest of the squad, who gave him a warm welcome back. We've missed his leadership and his spirit.

However, Puyol hasn't been included in the squad to face Sevilla.

A few thoughts on Barca v Athletic

As Ray Hudson said, Barca demonstrated both sides of their personality in this game. The first half was marked by a return to the wonderful, flowing, quick-passing football that the fans have been missing for quite some time, while the second half was marked by the constant state of uncertainty that characterised some games from last season. By that I mean that the players looked like they didn't know what they were supposed to be doing out there.

Another concern was that despite all the fluid football, the goals from open play still haven't come. Henry must have felt like he was back at Arsenal for a bit, as Barca played some great stuff but the ball just wasn't going in the net.

Overall, though, the signs are positive. I was delighted with the great interplay, and much of the defensive effort.

Barca

positives

• Ronaldinho looked fit and energised. We all know he's a wonderful player, and he can do amazing things, but only if he wants to. As one fan put it, if he's this up for it when his son is visiting, we should make sure that kid is at every game.
• It's good to see improvements in Messi's passing, which was a weak area for him, at least compared to his other skills.
  
• Abidal was a revelation. His runs forward were very good, but I was equally impressed with the speed at which he gets back into position when the opponent counters.
• Oleguer had a good game. The much-maligned centerback gets a lot of stick, and I was surprised by Rijkaard's decision to start him, but the boss was correct. He did very well.
• Marquez looks like his old self again. I know he got sent off, but in general he's no longer looking as lost as he did last season, and that's very important for Barca, especially when Puyol's still not fit.
• Same goes for Deco, who, as El Mundo Deportivo says, turned back the clock to his glorious first season at Barca. He needs to watch those yellow cards, but other than that I'm very pleased with him.
• Xavi had a brilliant pre-season, and he's continued that form.
• Henry looks sharper and faster with every game. He just needs a bit more luck in front of goal.

negatives

• Henry still needs to click with the rest of the attack.
• Valdes still can't deal with high balls into the box. Sigh.
• The new and improved defence is still rubbish on dead ball situations. I've pretty much accepted it as part of our DNA now, but it is exasperating.
• This is not really a negative, more an observation: Giovani is like 05-06 vintage Messi - great runs, scares the hell out of defenders, but his shooting and decision-making leaves something to be desired.
  

highlights

• Ronaldinho's freekick. Brilliant.
• Oleguer's overhead kick clearance.
• Messi and Giovani, 2 kids playing a game of keep-ball with adults (as the GolTV commentary team remarked) - and winning.
• Abidal combining with Henry for what would have been a brilliant goal, if Henry hadn't hit the post.
• Ronaldinho tackling and tracking back.
• Gabi Milito winning headers in the box. What a novel sight for us Barca fans with the absence of Puyol.
  

the crowd

Please stop whistling the moment the team start passing it around along the back. Getting on the players' backs like that does not actually help them win games.

the referee

I'm sorry, but he was rubbish.

(Both Sport and El Mundo Deportivo reported that the penalty decision was 'rigorous'/'doubtful', and that the 3rd was a 'ghost goal'.)

Let's take the penalty. Maybe there's a case for saying that Iraizoz caught Henry, but it's just farcical to say that he gave away a penalty (and got himself kicked in the teeth) by putting his face in the way of Henry's boot.

In my opinion, Henry needs to learn not to challenge the goalkeeper so closely. In La Liga, keepers are generally more protected, and another referee would probably have given a foul against him.

The third Barca goal can't be blamed on him, as the linesman probably had a say in that decision, but the rest of his performance was equally lamentable. The calling of fouls was highly inconsistent, and that affected both teams, as the game became more scrappy in the second half.

(By the way, when is the league going to introduce goal-line technology to stop all these controversies over whether the ball did or did not cross the line? It's simple enough, and it would help.)

Caparros would be entitled to say that the referee had a hand in Athletic's defeat, but as he's a classy guy, he didn't moan too much.

Athletic

Poor old Iraizoz had a great game, making many difficult saves even after he'd been kicked in the face. Also, that kid Susaeta is something special, isn't he? The fabled Athletic youth system strikes again.


(I'm going to get busy again as uni starts, but expect some words about Argentina v Australia and a small Barca news round-up soon.)

Barca news and La Liga teams in Europe

Barca are obviously Spain's crisis club, having drawn their first game away, a horrifying fate that has surely -

Oh for God's sake. Dictionary definition of 'leaping to conclusions', anyone?

Barca 5-0 Inter Reserves (Joan Gamper Trophy)

El Mundo Deportivo called Inter 'tourists', which is harsh but true, and who can blame the Italians with an important league fixture to come in the weekend? However, a sold-out Camp Nou - yes, 98,599 people attended a season-opening friendly (so much for the fans feeling let down by the Barca team) - probably would have wished to see a few more of Inter's star players.

The team carried a banner reading 'we will play for you' with a picture of the Sevilla defender onto the pitch. By the way, it was the squad themselves who decided on the tribute of wearing his no.16 shirt and not to celebrate the goals scored that day.

"At first the squad wanted the game to be postponed in order to show our respects to the Puerta, although after talking to the directors we agreed that the best homage was to play for him," Xavi said.

"It was a good way for us to send a message of support and our concolences. Before that none of the players had really fancied playing at all."

I feel quite bad for Santiago Solari, who I've always liked and who received a hostile reception due to his status as a former Real Madrid player. He was one of the few Inter players who tried to make things happen and departed seemingly injured. Hopefully he's alright.

Interesting, there was a lot of support for the beleaguered Deco amongst the crowd, which I'm very pleased by. Other than that, the crowd absolutely loved the immense Yaya Toure, chanting his name after his excellent goal. The others to received the same treatment included Giovani, and Messi (seemingly for just being on the field). But anyway, Yaya is awesome. I'm beginning to suspect he may prove to be our signing of the season.

Of the other new guys, we already know what Abidal can do, but it was nice to see Gaby Milito get 45 minutes of playing time. He obviously needs more time, as there were some early communication issues, but it was good to see headers being won in the Barca area for the first time in ages courtesy of him, and his great sense of positioning was evident.

I've been pretty hard on Thierry Henry for a while, but I have to admit he's starting to win me over. He played 90 minutes of the Gamper game and looked very lively despite some rough defending from Inter. I was worried that his pace had gone with injuries and age, but was pleased to be proven wrong. My one concern is with the number of times Giovani has had the ball on the right flank, looked up to try and find Henry in the center with his cross, and discovered that he had drifted to the left, where Ronaldinho was, and that there was nobody to be found in the center. That has to change. Overall, though, I'm pleased with his progress and am happy to rely on his talents in future competitive matches.

I say this partly because unfortunately, Samuel Eto'o suffered a tear in his right thigh tendon about 2 minutes after he came on and had to be substituted.

How long is he going to be out? At least two months. God. I was afraid all pre-season that something was going to happen, and now it has. Good thing we haven't sold Gudjohnsen or Ezquerro yet. And now the thought of having Henry around is very reassuring, despite his own battle for fitness. Well, at least we'll be putting all that crap about the four forwards to one side, but I feel awful for Eto'o, who was still struggling to be fit from his last major injury. Those types of injuries are so tricky to recover from, too. Look at the nightmare Messi went through with his in 05-06.

The latest is that he will need surgery, which will happen on Saturday morning. Good luck, Sammy!

I hate to say this, but Ronaldinho needs to make just a bit more effort on the pitch, especially with Puyol's absence because of injury, since it's hard to have everybody giving their best when the captain's wandering around, too lazy to chase after a pass. His lack of movement was pretty worrying.

On the other hand, young Giovani is definitely a hard worker. I'm reluctant to admit this, given how much I like Messi, but in some ways Giovani has the greater tactical discipline, because he seldom holds onto the ball just a touch too long like Messi sometimes does. Of course, Messi's dribbling runs are just part of his playing style, just like his tendency to cut into the middle from the right, and it's good that Rijkaard has more tactical options, with Giovani more likely to stay wide. The young Mexican still has a bit to learn in terms of general tactical discipline, and sometimes his decision-making is suspect, but that will come with playing time.

Poor old Cristian Chivu had a torrid time against Giovani and must have been relieved to see the boy depart. Except that his replacement was one Leo Messi, who continued to torment the defender.

Champions League draw

Hey. we're in the group of death (again), isn't that great? To be fair, none of the groups look like walkovers this time around, but God. Of the Spanish teams, Valencia have got a tough job themselves. (By the way, how are Valencia still a pot 2 team after doing so well since the turn of the century?) The draw in full:

Group A: Liverpool, Porto, Marseille, Besiktas
Group B: Chelsea, Valencia, Schalke 04, Rosenborg
Group C: Real Madrid, Werder Bremen, Lazio, Olympiakos
Group D: AC Milan, Benfica, Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group E: Barcelona, Lyon, VfB Stuttgart, Rangers
Group F: Manchester United, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev
Group G: Internazionale, PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce
Group H: Arsenal, Sevilla/AEK Athens, Steaua Bucharest, Slavia Prague

UEFA Cup draw

I have to admit, I don't know much about the clubs the four Spanish participants have been drawn with:

Villarreal CF (ESP) v FC BATE Borisov (BLR)
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) v Kayseri Erciyesspor (TUR)
Aris Thessaloniki FC (GRE) v Real Zaragoza (ESP)
Getafe CF (ESP) v FC Twente (NED)

Also of interest to Barca fans, Henrik Larsson's Helsingborgs have been handed a relative tough tie against Heerenveen of the Netherlands.

And speaking of former Barca players, Gerard Lopez has joined Recreativo on a free transfer.

Joan Gamper Trophy (a tribute to Nicolau Casaus and Antonio Puerta)

Barcelona played their traditional season opener friendly against a Inter team missing most of their big stars. I could complain about that, and about the dubious scheduling of this match, but that's a matter for another post. This post is dedicated to the spirit of the evening, which was to honour the lives of former club vice-president Nicolau Casaus, who died earlier in the month, and Sevilla player Antonio Puerta, who died a few days ago.

The Barca players worn Puerta's no.16 Sevilla shirt when they ran out onto the pitch.


Fans in the stands showed their support and condolences with banners.


There was a minute's silence before the match in honour of both Casaus and Puerta.


An emotional Samuel Eto'o before the game.


The Barca starting 11


Ronaldinho dedicates his goal.


Gio does the same.


Eto'o has to be substituted with a muscle injury.


The 11 on the pitch at the end.


Captain Valdes is presented with the trophy.

Pictorial credit: Sina, Marca, El Mundo Deportivo, El Mundo

A rant about certain sections of the Catalan sports press

When I revamped the blog (what do you think, tidier to look at now?), I decided to link to Spanish sports dailies Marca and (Barcelona-based/biased) El Mundo Deportivo, along with the football section of El Pais, the big general daily, but not AS or Sport. A blind monkey can see that AS are in the Barca-baiting business, so there's no sense in a Barcelona-focused blog linking to that, ah, fine publication (I once saw it referred to as 'reputable Spanish daily AS' and nearly died laughing) which doesn't at all make up crazy rumours. But the case of Sport needs explaining. After all, they are fanatical in their support for Barca, and I should be fine with that, right?

Not if they're the kind of fanatical that makes me cringe in embarrassment. Additionally, they print rubbish about Barcelona itself on a daily basis.

Exhibition 1: thinking that they know better than the coaching staff how to bed in a young player. Because they were the ones who did so well bringing Messi into the first team, were they? Attacking the man who did, Frank Rijkaard for supposedly not being brave enough to give a 17 year old significant first team minutes (also known as rushing a player's development by putting undue pressure on them) makes them look really smart in comparison. Not.

Yes, Bojan is wonderful, but how long before the press start to measure him by the same strict standards they use for the big stars and slamming him for every misstep? Having seen how things went with Messi, I give it a month.

To the great football minds at Sport:

There are these other blokes who are already fighting for a starting spot up front. You might have heard of them. In fact, you were inventing that insanely idiotic 'fantastic four' nickname for them just a little while ago, and then whinging about everybody associated with the club advising the press not to use it.

You know, those rubbish unknowns Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o and Leo Messi, who have never done anything special for the club ever.

Oh yeah, there's also that guy we've just bought from Arsenal. I hear he's decent.

Exhibition 2: in a related vein, their coverage of Eto'o. Oh yeah, he's the hardest working of all the forwards, but that doesn't matter, he looks so grumpy all the time and we want to see the new guys instead. They've apparently never heard of someone having to play their way back into form after a major injury, and are instead content to behave like a kid in a candy shop, always looking for the shiniest novelty.

Exhibition 3: (which El Mundo Deportivo is also guilty of) upbraiding Rijkaard and putting pressure on him for not playing Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Henry and Messi together, because according to them that's what the fans want. I completely understand that attacking football is part of the club's DNA, and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I also know that in modern football, a team has to be balanced. Out of those four, only two of them defend, and only one (Eto'o) is the kind of guy who's willing to chase an opposition winger all the way to their touchline after losing the ball. (Messi would give chase until just before the penalty area and then stop, assuming that the defenders would take care of it.)

It's simply unrealistic in a competitive game to play all four, especially since two of them would be getting in each other's way all the time. Perhaps it's an option if we're behind in a game and need to score above all else, and screw defending. Rijkaard has after all done it before with Larsson in place of Henry, the problem here being that Henry drifts in from the side and has to play in the center to be effective, while Larsson could handle all three positions on the forward line. In any case, it worked well in games against the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.

By the way, it's such a crime to waste Eto'o on the wing. I know he said he's okay with playing anywhere (witness his - quite reasonable - performance as essentially a wingback during the latter stages of the Champions League semi with Milan at the Camp Nou), and it's a good use of his work rate, but it's just painful to watch. Both him and Henry absolutely have to play center forward. We've got plenty of wing-forwards who are good at their own job.

Exhibiton 4: having been at least partially responsible for the ridiculous and unrealistic hype over the team themselves, they rush to declare themselves deeply disappointed and let down as soon as the first game is played, conveniently ignoring their own role in making this bunch of players who in truth have yet to gel sound like the second coming of Christ. Dropping 2 points on the first day of the season is a major disaster. It's so horrible that the last time we did so we -

Oh. We won the league and the Champions League, after taking at a month or two to play ourselves into form, during which the hysteria of the press over the points being dropped and the supposed falling out certain big stars had with Frank Rijkaard reached intolerable levels.

...and I haven't even touched on the disgraceful racist cartoon about the Asian tour and their approach to transfer rumours.

In the end, they can write what they want, of course, and they need to sell papers somehow. But that doesn't mean I can't rant about how wrong I think they are.