GAME 01 : Racing-FCB (0-3)

Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and David Villa all scored as FC Barcelona made a stunning start to their quest for a hat-trick of league titles with a triumph over Racing Santander on Sunday evening.

The Blaugrana dominated possession throughout in front of an expectant crowd in El Sardinero and the three players who started up front for the visitors all scored and had many more chances to make the victory even more emphatic. Víctor Valdés also shone as he saved a penalty and made other fine saves to show why he won the Zamora Trophy last time out. 

Messi celebrates

Barça began the game with six members of Spain's World Cup winning squad on the field after Carles Puyol was withdrawn late on as a precaution. That quality proved to be too much for Racing Club, although they did put a keen fight. Messi scored 34 league goals to equal Ronaldo's club record last season and took just three minutes to find his first this term. The Argentinian broke into the area down the right and edged past Henrique, who has renewed his loan spell at Racing from Barça, before superbly    clipping the ball over the approaching keeper. 

Iniesta scores

Just before the second goal arrived Messi could have doubled his tally as he took on Gonzalo Colsa and Marc Torrejón and looked set to roll the ball home only for Francis to take it off his toe. Two minutes later and Iniesta did increase Barça's advantage as he showed incredible technique when meeting Toño's punch out of the area on the volley. The Blaugrana star met the ball first time and guided it back over the stranded keeper and into the net and the goal saw everyone on the bench, bar Guardiola, rise to applaud the strike. 

Valdés saves

Moments after going two ahead Barça could have seen their lead halved when the referee felt that Maxwell had nudged Francis over and generously gave the hosts a penalty. Valdés stood strong before diving to his right to palm away Tchité's effort from 12 yards out. That stop gave the away side even more of a lift and before the break Messi could have yet another only to see his effort fly just off target. 

Villa nets

After the break FC Barcelona kept hold off the ball for long periods as they made Racing chase the play as they showed that their enjoyment of playing in confined space and creating chances from nothing has not dropped at all despite winning their second league title last season.

Villa was keen to net his first goal for the club after joining from Valencia before the World Cup Finals and after putting in a solid display he was rewarded in the 62nd minute for his efforts. Alves' sent over a deep cross from the right and the Asturian maintained his position before guiding the ball back across Toño and into the far corner of the net.

Adrián drew the best out of Valdés before the end, but the Barça keeper kept a clean sheet and secured their first three points of the season by sending out a message to the rest of the league that they want their third consecutive title.

Recruits: 2010-11 season (Update)

Our newly recruited players so far:

Villa #7 in Barca Colors

1. David Villa Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [daˈβið ˈβiʎa]; born 3 December 1981), nicknamed El Guaje (The Kid in Asturian).

On 19 May 2010, Barcelona reached an agreement with Valencia, for the acquisition of Villa for the fee of €40 million.
Villa signed on a four year contract with Barcelona, with the option for a fifth, worth a reported €7 million per season.

On 21 May 2010, over 35,000 Barcelona supporters packed into Camp Nou to see Villa's presentation, where he revealed the kit Barcelona would use during the 2010-11 season. He was given his favorite number 7, a number which had been free at the club since Eiður Guðjohnsen left in 2009.





2. Adriano Correia Claro (born 26 October 1984), simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer .

One of few players in professional football who is genuinely two-footed, he is capable of playing as a defender or midfielder, on both sides of the pitch.

#21 Adriano

 On 16 July 2010, Adriano signed a 4+1 deal with Barcelona, for €9.5 million plus a conditional fee of €4 million; it also included a buyout clause of €90 million. He was awarded the #21 shirt vacated by Ukrainian Dmytro Chygrynskiy, departed after just one season.







3. Javier Alejandro Mascherano (Spanish pronunciation: [masʃeˈɾano], born 8 June 1984 in San Lorenzo) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder . He is the captain of the Argentine national team.

Mascherano #14

Mascherano began his career in at River Plate. He moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005, winning the Brazilian Série A in his first season. Mascherano moved to Europe, signing for Premier League side West Ham United. However, unusual contract terms with Media Sports Investments blighted his brief time at the club and at the beginning of 2007 he joined Liverpool on loan.

He officially signed for Liverpool in February 2008 for £18.6 million, parting ways with Media Sports Investments.
Mascherano's two most used nicknames (in Argentina) are Masche and El Jefecito (The little chief).
He was considered a key part of the national side by coach Diego Maradona who stated that his team was just Jonas, Mascherano, Messi and eight more, whilst Maradona was in charge.


Mascherano also holds an Italian passport, which makes him eligible as a EU player.

Javier Mascherano is officially a player of FC Barcelona after he signed  four-year contract with the club on Monday afternoon at the Camp Nou offices.

Spanish Super Cup Champions

RESULT:
FC Barcelona: 4
Sevilla FC: 0



GOALSCORERS:
FC Barcelona: Konko [OG 13'], Messi [24', 43', 89']
Sevilla: None

LINEUPS:
FC Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Abidal, Maxwell, Sergio, Xavi, Keita, Messi, Pedro and Bojan

Sevilla FC: Palop, Navarro, Romaric, Navas, Zokora, Escude, Alfaro, Capel, Negredo, Dabo and Konko

SUBSTITUTES:
FC Barcelona: Pinto, Puyol, Villa, Iniesta, Ibra, Milito and Adriano
Sevilla FC: Javi Varas, Fazio, Perotti, Luis Fabiano, Renato, Cigarini and Rodri.

SUBSTITUTIONS:
FC Barcelona: Iniesta for Bojan [56'], Villa for Pedro [56'], Adriano for Xavi [87']
Sevilla FC: Cigarini for Romaric [60'], Perotti for Alfaro [60'], Fabiano for Capel [60']

CAUTIONS:
FC Barcelona: Pique [78']
Sevilla FC: Romaric [32'], Cigarini [88']

Guardiola does not want signings

Catalan sports paper Sport reports that after the defeat against Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan, many concerns over the composition of the squad for the next season have been raised by the board upon the technical staff. Is it enough to face the season with just nineteen first team players, two less than last year? Do we have to sign more players? Is it too bold to gamble on the young players? Are they ready to make this leap or do they have to gain more experience in the Second Division? The board have raised questions to the technical staff, but with Pep Guardiola and Andoni Zubizarreta in the lead, they have a definitive solution, a plan for the future and for the present.

Pep does not want Mascherano or Ozil unless we get them for bargain prices.

Pep Guardiola considered the possibility of signing a player and it is as one would expect, Cesc Fàbregas. The midfielder met all the requirements that would enable him to join the club. For starters he was formed in the club and is even a member, he is young, ambitious, has goals in him, will easily adjust to the system… The failure to sign the Arenys born midfielder has meant that the technical staff had to change their plan for the season, but the reaction has been immediate.

Guardiola knows that the squad has less players than last season, but it is not an issue that worries him too much. He is convinced that the young players from the academy along with the new signings David Villa and Adriano will end up playing the minutes that Chygrynskiy, Marquez, Toure and Henry used to enjoy .
Up front there is no shortage of depth, the forward line has been reinforced since the arrival of the second top scorer in the League last season, the top scorer of the last World Cup and the last European Championship, David Villa.

In defense, two players are gone Marquez and Chygrynskiy, but Adriano and Fontas can confidently fulfill this role, while other talented youngsters like Bartra, Muniesa, Sergi Gomez, Montoya, Planas, Dalmau can all be called up as and when needed.

It is in midfield where there is greater lack of depth. There are four players already part of the first team for three positions Busquets, Xavi, Keita and Iniesta. Cesc would have been the fifth but now the gap will be covered by Jonathan Dos Santos, Thiago Alcantara and Oriol Romeu. Guardiola will gradually give minutes to these players, and surrounding them by first team players until they are ready to be freed, never like in the Sevilla game, where the coach had no other option.

Guardiola considers the rise of players like Messi, Puyol, Iniesta and Xavi, as an example of players who started on the bench, and were gradually coming to maturity, that has allowed them to settle in the team and will look to bring up the current crop in the same way.

The club acknowledges that the coach had no other option than to throw in four or five young players and that even the first team players that were playing, still lacked a proper preseason. Guardiola has no doubt in his mind and, in light of the results he has achieved since becoming a coach, he will be given a wide margin of confidence because he has earned it. As always Guardiola is calm because he believes that Barça 2010-11 will walk on the right track. Whether the club win the Super Cup or not, it is he who will be leading the way, who has led the club to the top and will continue to do so.

Source : Sport.es and TotalBarca.com

SSC : Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 3-1 Visited

The missing seven Spanish Internationals & recent World Champions were left out because of lack of physical & team preparation .
Pep put together a side with many Barcelona B players & future promising youngsters.

First Half:

Saw FC Barca playing well with coordination and the youth showing that they were capable of filling in for our first team members. All seemed well and the opening goal came in the 20th minute when Maxwell crossed in to Ibrahimovic who scored a beauty of a goal.

We maintained enough possession considering our squad and played a very good first half based on the score line.

Ibra after scoring the first goal.

Second Half:

The second half was a diffrent story as Sevilla put on Kanoute & later Negredo.Their startegy paid off as the young "inexperienced" Barcelona newcomers dropped in level, made some mistakes & allowed the more experienced Sevilla players to take over proceedings.

Luis Fabiano scored the equalizer in the 62th min. Kanoute was then brought on and almost instantly we looked in disarray and the tide had turned in Sevilla favor. Kanoute scored 2 goals within the span of ten mins, first being 74th & second in the 82nd min.

Sevilla FC now take a handly 3-1 aggregate advantage to "Camp Nou" were Barça will be obligated to bring back its International star players & attempt to turn around the Spanish Super Cup tie. 

 

This game shows that although Barca do have great youth players the only way for them to be integrated into this squad is gradually and I don't think they are ready for full matches with the majority of the starters missing.


I also feel that we do need more depth in our CD and also in our DMF spot. I have always felt this way not just after watching this match. Our youth are great in regards to their talent for their age or what they can learn from our experienced players while playing first team football. But we need someone who is well experienced to fill in for big games that we might have to play if some of our players are injured or suspended. Especially in the defense department.But from the looks of this it does not seem like we are going to get any more reinforcements in the squad this season according to what Pep has said in Sport.

SSC : Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 3-1

Spanish Supercup, 1st leg
14th August, CET 21:30
Venue: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan
Attendance: 38,921
Referee: Cesar Muniz Fernandez

GOALSCORERS:

Sevilla: Luis Fabiano (61′), Kanoute (73′, 82′)

FC Barcelona: Ibrahimovic (20′)

LINEUPS:

Sevilla: Palop, Konko, Fazio, Escude, Dabo,  Navas, Romaric, Renato, Zokora Perotti, Luis Fabiano

FC Barcelona: Miño, Alves, S.Gómez, Milito, Abidal, Dos Santos, Romeu, Keita, Bojan, Ibrahimovic, Maxwell

SUBSTITUTES:

Sevilla: Varas, Negredo, Kanouté, Squillaci, Capel, Cigarini and Alfaro

FC Barcelona: Oier, Roberto, Muniesa, Adriano, Thiago, Jeffren and Messi

Pre Season: Guoan 0-3 FC Barcelona

RESULT:
Guoan: 0

FC Barcelona: 3


GOALSCORERS:
Guoan: (none)
FC Barcelona: S. Roberto (10′), Nolito (13′), Ibrahimovic (90′)

LINEUPS:
Guoan: Yang Zhi, Lu Jiang, Xu Yunlong, Zhang Yong, Hai, Ros Haurice, Yang Hao, Zhu Yifan, Xu Liang, Martinez, Joel Griffiths
FC Barcelona: Pinto, Adriano, S. Gómez, Abidal, Maxwell, J. dos Santos, S. Roberto, V. Vázquez, Messi, Edu Oriol, Nolito

SUBSTITUTES:
Guoan: Zhang Sipeng, Lang Zheng, Wu Hao, Matic, Du Wenhui, Yan, Xiangchuang, Wang Ke, Wang Xiaolong, R. Griffiths, Yang Yun
FC Barcelona: Oier, Miño, Fontàs, Ilie, Armando, Milito, Muniesa, Keita, Riverola, Víctor Sánchez, Ibrahimovic, Benja, J. Soriano

Sport after failing to sign Fab

 

CESC WON’T COME

The player publicly said that he will stay in Arsenal, who have ruled out two offers from Barça.

Confidential: A pact like the one they did with Villa. Secret agreement for 2011.

CANTERA POWER

Guardiola will rely on the youngsters to complete the first team squad. Jonathan and Thiago might play in the midfield.

3 REMAINING TARGETS

The directive staff still sounds out Özil, Javi Martínez and Mata, just in case Pep asks for some reinforcements.

Special fitness plan for Messi. The crack starts to work hard and tomorrow will play 30 minutes.

The internationals’ “drama”. They will travel half the distance of travelling all around the world. Alves will travel 27.000 km and the Spanish internationals 21.400 km.

[Non Barça Related]

 Mourinho puts pressure on himself: “Not winning La Liga and the Champions would be a failure“.

Thanks to TotalBarca.com for transalation.

Fab Case Closed

Finally the Cesc decided to make up his mind and put an end to all these rumors.



An official statement was realesed by Barcelona on 06.08.2010

"Underneath we reproduce in its entirety FC Barcelona’s press release regarding the news that Cesc Fàbregas is to continue at Arsenal FC."

"In the light of the statement released today regarding the contractual future of Cesc Fàbregas, FC Barcelona regrets the decision of Arsenal FC to declare the player not for sale and their decision not to take into consideration the offers proposed. None of those offers, in any way, exceeded 40 million Euros."

K League All-Stars 2-5 FC Barcelona

K League All-Stars 2-5 FC Barcelona

 Zlatan Ibrahimovic after scoring a goal

RESULT:
K League All-Stars: 2
FC Barcelona: 5


GOALSCORERS:
K League All-Stars: Sung Choi (1′), Dong Gook (36′)
FC Barcelona: Ibrahimovic (6′), Messi (42′), Messi (45′+2), V. Sanchez (82′), J. Soriano (84′)

LINEUPS:
K League All-Stars: Jung Sung Ryong, Choi Hyo Jin, Kim Sang Sik, Kim Doo Hyung, Kim Hyung Il, Kim Jae Sung, Enio, Molina, Choi Sung Kuk, Kim Chang Soo, Lee Dong Gook.

FC Barcelona: Pinto, Ilie, S. Gomez, Milito, Maxwell, E. Oriol, S. Roberto, J. Dos Santos, Adriano, Ibrahimovic, Benja 

Barcelona's Lionel Messi scores a goal past South Korea's K-League All-Star soccer team goalkeeper Jung Sung Ryong (L) during a soccer exhibition match at Seoul World Cup Stadium August 4, 2010.