Tello scores goal in victory over Real Sociedad (Photo: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Lionel Messi scored one and assisted another as Barcelona successfully fought off their San
Sebastian rivals in a freezing, sub-zero encounter at the Camp Nou.
Pep Guardiola rolled out the reserves for this one, choosing to rest key starters ahead of his
team's Copa del Rey semi final clash with Valencia on Wednesday.
By Chris Wright
I'm willing to bet your gut reaction to the news that Sergio Busquets got well and truly
knobbled in a challenge with Real Sociedad's Carlos Martinez during the home side's 2-1 win at the
Nou Camp last night was somewhere along the lines of 'what goes around, comes around' but that
doesn't make the deep laceration that the Barca midfielder suffered any less grotesque.
Puyol's header gives Barça 1-1 draw in first leg of Copa (Photo: AP Photo/Paul White)
Barcelona rallied from a goal down to ensure a 1-1 draw against Valencia in the first leg of
their semi final showdown in the Copa del Rey.
La Mestalla provided all of the hostility the Catalans could handle, as Valencia came
out of the gates in a surging frenzy, mounting unrelenting pressure in the opening minutes trying
to force a crack in Barcelona's defensive armor.
FC Barcelona took a good step towards proceeding to Copa Del Rey final with a 1-1 draw at
Mestella. Considering how tough we have found recently in Valencia, this draw is as good as a win -
especially because of the away goal. In the 27th minute Jonas put Valencia ahead, but Carles Puyol
equalised for Barca in the 36th minute.
Awards are for the vain folk that feel the need to be rewarded for greatness. An award, usually
a piece of precious metal, is handed to an individual, usually a sentient homo sapiens, based on
that individual's contributions to a particular endeavor. Subjectivity underlines the entire
process. Humans clasp at the material to the detriment of the abstract.
FC Barcelona could have handed over the Liga title to Real Madrid unofficially after drawing
away at 17th placed Villareal. The lead at the top of the summit is seven points which could be too
much for our boys to climb. Already with a very depleted side, we weren't helped by Guardiola's
decision making all night.
So, in case you have resided in a cave on the large rock in outer space formerly known as planet
Pluto, Real Madrid played Barcelona in the 2nd leg of the Copa del Rey. Based on secondhand
accounts, 'twas a most enjoyable spectacle. Teams scored goals. Teams kicked soccer balls. Teams
ran. At the end of 90 minutes, the two teams tied 2-2.
FC Barcelona secured a semi-final birth in this season's Copa Del Rey after knocking out holders
Real Madrid with a sensational 2-2 draw. Barcelona who went into the break with a 2-0 lead had to
hold off a sensational fightback from Mourinho's boys to secure the semi-final birth. To an extent
we had to say that we were lucky after putting up the worst defensive display of the season, and
courtesy of the fact that Madrid missed a number of chances.
Barcelona: Pinto; Dani Alves, Piqué, Puyol y Abidal; Xavi, Busquets e Iniesta, Fabregas; Messi
y Alexis Sánchez. DT: Pep Guardiola
Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Albiol,
Sergio Ramos y Marcelo; Lass, Xabi Alonoso y Coentrao; Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo e Higuaín. DT:
José Mourinho
España: 22:00 horas / Argentina - Chile: 18:00 horasVER EN VIVOOPCION 1OPCION 2 OPCION 3OPCION 4ROJA DIRECTA Pese a los golpes que ha recibido por las autoridades estadounidenses continúa
operativa y presenta la mejor oferta de links para seguir online cualquier partido de cualquier
disciplina.
For today's introduction we are going back into the mists of time, when men were men and not
floppy overcooked strings of spaghetti like Busquets, Nani and Pepe.
England were World Champions and Man Utd had recently won the European Cup. For
the younger reader who has grown up in the Sky era, there can be no understanding of the excitement
and national pride that both events stirred.
Much of the top o'the headlines furor due to the Luis Suarez and John Terry racism issues has
seemingly boiled over, the print now focusing on the Andy Carroll rubbishness issues which have
been brought to light through Luis' siesta, but it's now at least time for a solid wrap on the
situation.
FC Barcelona continued with their winning streak at home in La Liga with a very hard fought 4-2
victory against an inspired Real betis side. The match started very brightly for us going 2-0 up
within 12 minute, then turned into a nightmare when Real Betis equalised early into second
half.
Messi celebrates second goal against Osasuna in Copa del Rey (Photo: David Ramos/Getty
Images)
Barcelona kicked off 2012 the way they finished 2011: with goals.
On the back of a 4-0 FIFA Club World Cup Championship victory over Santos and a 9-0 demolition
of C.E. L'Hospitalet to wrap up a memorable 2011, Barcelona returned to action without missing a
beat, defeating Osasuna 4-0 at the Camp Nou in their first match of the new year.
French publication L'Equipe named its 2011 Team of the Year recently, and as you might expect,
Barcelona dominated the selections with six players on the team.
LIonel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo headline the squad, which includes a total of eight players
from La Liga and two players from the English Premier League.
Barcelona's system and style is being emulated all over the world by teams at all levels. As
accomplished as Barcelona's fluidity and control on both sides of the ball can be, it also appears
that they have copied a page out of Marcelo Bielsa's playbook in regards to his high pressing and
back 3.
Santos - FC Barcelona0:4 (0:3)
FechaSede / EstadioHoraAsistencia
18 diciembre 2011 Yokohama / International Stadium Yokohama19:3068166Goles marcadosLionel
MESSI (BAR) 17', XAVI (BAR) 24', Cesc FABREGAS (BAR) 45', Lionel MESSI (BAR) 82'Santos
[1] RAFAEL CABRAL (GK) [2] EDU DRACENA (C) [3] LEO [4] DANILO (-31') [5] AROUCA [6] DURVAL [7]
HENRIQUE [9] BORGES (-79') [10] GANSO (-83') [11] NEYMAR [14] BRUNO RODRIGO En el banquillo [12]
ARANHA (GK) [23] VLADIMIR (GK) [8] ELANO (+31') [13] BRUNO AGUIAR [15] ANDERSON CARVALHO [16]
VINICIUS [17] FELIPE ANDERSON [18] IBSON (+83') [19] ALAN KARDEC (+79') [20] Wason RENTERIA [21]
PARA [22] DIOGO Entrenador Muricy RAMALHO (BRA)
FC Barcelona[1] Victor VALDES (GK) [2] DANI ALVES [3] Gerard PIQUE (-56') [4] Cesc FABREGAS
[5] Carles PUYOL (C) (-85') [6] XAVI [8] Andres INIESTA [10] Lionel MESSI [11] THIAGO (-79') [16]
Sergio BUSQUETS [22] Eric ABIDAL
En el banquillo [13] PINTO (GK) [25] Oier OLAZABAL (GK) [7] David VILLA [A] [9] Alexis SANCHEZ [14]
Javier MASCHERANO (+56') [15] Seydou KEITA [17] PEDRO (+79') [18] Jonathan DOS SANTOS [19] MAXWELL
[21] ADRIANO [24] Andreu FONTAS (+85') [27] Isaac CUENCA Entrenador Pep GUARDIOLA
(ESP)
Amonestaciones
Gerard PIQUE (BAR) 39'
, Javier MASCHERANO (BAR) 71'
, GANSO (SAN) 73'
, EDU DRACENA (SAN) 74'
Expulsiones
Cuerpo arbitral del partido
ÁrbitroRavshan IRMATOV (UZB) Assistant Referee 1Abdukhamidullo RASULOV (UZB) Cuarto ÁrbitroYuichi
NISHIMURA (JPN) Assistant Referee 2Bakhadyr KOCHKAROV (KGZ) Quinto ÁrbitroToru SAGARA (JPN)
Santos (BRA )EstadísticasFC Barcelona (ESP)8Disparos163Remates a puerta90Goles413Faltas
cometidas1311Faltas recibidas132Saques de esquina41Tiros libres ejecutados (al arco)10 /
0Lanzamientos penales (Goles/Remates)0 / 00Fueras de juego60Goles en propia meta02Tarjetas
amarillas20Segunda tarjeta amarilla y tarjeta roja00Tarjetas rojas018Tiempo real de
juego4529%Posesión del balón71% Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol
FC Barcelona were crowned the 2011 World Club Champions following a brilliant 4-0 victory
against South American Champions Santos. The battle between the Champiosn of Europe and Champiosn
of South America were a mismatch with Barca controlling the proceedings for the majority of
match.
Cesc goal helps Barcelona past Real Madrid 1-3 (Photo: REUTERS/Sergio Perez)
Barcelona recovered from conceding the quickest goal in El Clasico history to defeat
Real Madrid 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, delivering a decisive blow in the race for the La Liga
title.
The victory snaps Madrid's 15 game winning streak and sees Barcelona leapfrog their bitter
rivals to reclaim first place in the provisional Primera Division standings.
A repub a video that has finally reappeared on YouTube. Busquets may hit the deck today. Alves
may tumble.
But "Messi Don't Dive:"
FC Barcelona closed down the lead between them and Real Madrid to six points with a comfortable
5-0 victory against fourth placed Levante. Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring, then doubled it
followed by Cuenca, Messi and Sanchez goals gave Barca a comfortable victory at Camp NOu. Now all
the focus will shift to next week's Clasico action at Bernebeu.
Alexis looks to continue form against Levante (Photo: JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)
On Saturday FC Barcelona look to get back on track following their suprising loss to Getafe
last weekend. Though they put up an impressive performance mid-week against Rayo Vallecano
winning easily 4-0 it will be imporant to keep the momentum rolling going into a midweek Champions
League match up against BATE Borisov followed by the monsterous clash against Real Madrid.
The National has the latest on Paul Pogba's contract situation.
United Rant talks about youth ahead of Wednesday night's game.
The Daily Mail talks about Beckham writing off City's chances.
The FCF remembers our 6-2 win over Arsenal in the League Cup.
Dirty Tackle has pictures of Real Madrid's top banner.
Fascinating game between AC Milan and Barca today. For the first position in the group.
Pep had mixed up the starting eleven a bit with midfielders Mascherano and Busquets as central
defenders ( Bert? Are you paying attention?) but when you have Messi, Xavi and Fabregas in your
squad you [read more]
As attention shifts to matchday 5 of the Champions League today, many will be waiting with bated
breath for what could very well be the Match of the season. Italian giants AC Milan host defending
Champions Barcelona at the San Siro tomorrow.
The first leg of this fixture ended in a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp and Milan know that they can't
take any chances with the champs this time round.
Pique celebrates goal against Zaragoza (Photo: REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino)
Barcelona continued their impeccable home form this season, cruising to a comfortable 4-0
victory over bottom feeders Real Zaragoza.
With a critical group stage match against AC Milan looming on the horizon, Guardiola rested
regulars Abidal, Iniesta, Busquets and Villa.
Liverpool midfield stalwart Lucas Leiva has admitted that he has been watching Xabi Alonso closely,
in order to improve his own game.
The Brazilian initially found life difficult after his move to Anfield, sparking displeasure in The
Kop over his performances, and looked to Alonso in a bid to turn his career around.
Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta believes that the influence of skipper Robin van Persie has
helped him adapt easily to life at the Emirates Stadium following a deadline-day move from Everton
a little over two months ago.
Van Persie's locker-room presence has been questioned in the past but the Dutchman has
consistently been doing his talking on the field, scoring 13 goals in 16 appearances this
season.
Spain are the bookies' favourite to claim the Euro 2012 title held in Poland and Ukraine but do
they deserve to be in this position?
They are undoubtedly the best team in the world and have a respectable history in terms of awards.
The Spanish last claimed the European title back in the Euro 2008 where they beat the German
powerhouses 1-0 after a goal from the unstoppable Fernando Torres in the 33rd minute.
L'Hospitalet vs FC Barcelona in Copa del Rey
Wenesday's Copa del Rey match away at L'Hospitalet, Victor Valdes' hometown, could be an game
for youngsters Rafinha, Deofoleu and Sergi Roberto to shine. With the absences of Alexis, Messi,
Alves, Mascherano, Cuenca and Thiago due to international duty, Guardiola will be looking to give
minutes to La Masia's newest jewels.
Liverpool have contacted Barcelona to find out whether the Spanish giants would be willing to part
with midfielder Seydou Keita when the transfer window opens in January.
Respected Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has
been in touch with the reigning La Liga champions over the availability of Keita.
"Balance" has been a word tossed around frequently as Liverpool tries to fine-tune its
recently-acquired shape. Balance between attack and defense, balance between controlling the game
and pushing the tempo, balance between direct football and pass and move football.
On Saturday, Glen Johnson started at right back for only the second time this season, for the first
time with summer signing Jordan Henderson ahead of him on the right.
Xavi leads Barcelona past Granada (Photo: CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images)
A stunning free-kick from record-setter Xavi Hernandez saw Barcelona return to their winning
ways, dispatching undermanned Granada 1-0 in the Estadio Los Carmenes.
After last weekend's draw to Sevilla, manager Pep Guardiola decided to shake things up, making
five alterations to his lineup.
FC Barcelona vs FC Viktoria Plzen
Busquets and Mascherano are likely to come back into the starting eleven against Viktoria in
today's Champions League match versus Vitkoria. Another European test for Pep's boys, who will see
the upcoming match against the Czech Gambrinus Liga champions as a chance to take a huge step to
the round of 16.
Iniesta returns from injury to face Racing Santander (Photo: JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty
Images)
Andres Iniesta has recuperated from his injury and will act as the anti-FIFA Virus in Saturday's
home clash against Racing Santander. The Spanish international was out for three weeks following a
hamstring pull, but it looks like Guardiola will be ready to start him after having trained
regularly for the past week.
The cartoon featured today on Sport.es right expresses the anxiety we Barca fans have about
International breaks. It's not like we lost so much after International breaks, but there is no
denial that a number of our lackluster performance came following the break. But this time around
we shouldn't have such thoughts crossing our mind as the cartoon say "We got Andres Iniesta - The
Anti FIFA Virus Guys".
Moc Moc! Our amics at Barcelona sent over these exclusive
images of their newly-revamped La Masia academy bringing together all eleven of
their players in Guardiola's XI, who were successfully graduates of the renowned youth academy. And
we're sure many of you Culés are brimming with pride as you look at this
right now!
Adriano's goal leads FC Barcelona past Sporting Gijon (Photo: Getty Images)
After back-to-back 2-2 draws on the road to Real Sociedad and Valencia, Barcelona rebounded with
a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to bottom of the table Sporting Gijon, in a result that sees the
Catalans ascend to top of La Liga standings.
Messi and Pique take on Sporting Gijon (Photo: Viktor Drachev/Getty Images)
This Sunday, the "Pep Team" returns to the stadium where they recorded their first La Liga
victory in the 2008-2009 season. Some would say that " El Molinón" was where it all started for
Guardiola and his players, having thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 after a festival of football.
FC Barcelona with another manita, this time against FC BATE in Champions League (Photo: Getty
Images)
Guardiola can rest easy. The dread of facing an unknown, physical, Eastern European side, hungry
to impress its fans proved all for naught. Indeed, the arduous journey to Belarus proved more
difficult than the challenge awaiting his side upon arrival.
FC Barcelona continued their excellent home run in 2011-12 La Liga season with a 5-0 victory
against the high flying Atletico Madrid. With this victory FC Barcelona moved to second place in
the La Liga standing. David Villa opened the scoring for Barca, followed by an own goal from
Miranda and three brilliant goals from Messi gave Barca a comfortable victory, which is Barca's
fifth in a row against the same side.
