Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta remains confident coach Pep Guardiola will continue his successful spell at the helm.

However, he has confirmed the club have drawn up contingency plans should Guardiola decide to leave the Nou Camp.

Zubizarreta is optimistic it will not come to that despite the Catalans, who visit Osasuna on Saturday, trailing arch-rivals Real Madrid by seven points in the La Liga title race.

Some areas of the press are suggesting that it hasn't been such a stellar year for Gareth Bale in comparison with last season. Those reports tend to just point to the winger's hat trick in the San Siro but they conveniently forget that this has been a much more consistent campaign for the Welshman.

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.

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.

Welcome to the Friday Crackovia Club, the comedy club which welcomes every single one of you Futbolitinos! Of course, for the newbies, Crackovia is the best football sketch show from Catalonia (you'd be hard pressed to find a better one).

According to Gaizka Mendieta , there is a big possibility that Barca coach Pep Guardiola could soon be on his way out of the record breaking club. A lot of uncertainty has arisen over Guardiola's future following his shocking denial on Tuesday that he was close to signing a new contract.

It doesn't make any sense why Pep would want to leave Barcelona.

Barca holds off Madrid rally to reach cup semis World Soccer Yahoo! Sports.

Barcelona once again got the better of their closest rivals in La Liga by knocking out Real Madrid in the quarter finals of the Copa Del Rey. After taking a two goal lead over Real, Barcelona were pegged back to 2-2 as the game finished in a draw.

FC Barcelona eliminated arch-rivals Real Madrid from the 2011/12 Copa del Rey on Wednesday night with a 2-2 draw (4-3 on aggregate). The Catalans appeared to have matters sealed after...

Real Madrid suffered another home defeat to Barcelona but this time in the first-leg of the Copa del Rey. The cup loss has not been as painful as the La Liga loss to the bitter rivals from Catalonia. In both defeats the hosts took the lead early on only for the Catalans to strike back to achieve precious and morale boosting victories.

Messi scores another hat trick in victory over Malaga (Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images)

An inspired three-goal performance from Lionel Messi saw Barcelona defeat Malaga 4-1 at La Rosaleda, keeping the Catalans within striking distance of Real Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.

Abidal fires the winning blast to defeat Real Madrid (Photo: REUTERS/Susana Vera)

Barcelona mounted a second half comeback to defeat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, extracting a measure of vengeance for their defeat in last year's Copa del Rey Final at the hands of their eternal rivals.

Barcelona looked like they were headed for a draw before Alexis Sanchez and Messi scored in the span of 10 minutes to hand the Catalans a much needed 4-2 win over Real Betis that reduced their deficit on Leaders Real Madrid to 5 points.

World Player of the year Lionel Messi scored a brace to bring his tally for the season to 19 goals, just 2 short of leading goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real Madrid need a late winner from Jose Callejon to beat Real Mallorca and ensure they continued with their amazing streak that has seen them win 3 fixtures since their infamous 3-1 home loss to Barcelona.

Madrid do not seem like letting go of the top spot at least for now and though their arch rivals Barca are yet to play, a win for the Catalans will only bring them to within 5 points of Madrid.

Real Madrid need a late winner from Jose Callejon to beat Real Mallorca and ensure they continued with their amazing streak that has seen them win 3 fixtures since their infamous 3-1 home loss to Barcelona.

Madrid do not seem like letting go of the top spot at least for now and though their arch rivals Barca are yet to play, a win for the Catalans will only bring them to within 5 points of Madrid.

Despite their 1-1 draw with local rivals Espanyol, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has refused to concede the La Liga title to their arch rivals Real Madrid. The Catalans now find themselves 5 points behind their arch rivals Madrid who top the standings with 43 points.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Guardiola was quoted as saying that it was still too early to give up on defending their title.

WEEKEND WRAP!

It's the FA Cup weekend, so you'd be forgiven for finally creeping out from under your blankets and rubbing your eyes... except it's another case of 'Back to the Future' and Thierry Henry has returned for Arsenal! Although you'd all like to believe this is one of monsieur Arsène's secret master plans, his arrival is meant to support the loss of Fútbolitos Gervinho and Chamakh Challo to the three-week long African Nations Cup, which kicks off on January 21st!

Welcome to the first Friday Crackovia Club of 2012! As the Catalans say... "és temps de festa!" (time to party) And really, who better to raise your first toast to than these brilliant actors, who do it week in and week out? (just like the players!

Santos are expecting a tough battle for their teen sensation Neymar when he prepare to leaves the club in 2014. The Campeonato Paulista player of the year 2011 has consistently been linked with a move to Spain with Barcelona now emerging as his most probable destination.

In fact, reports doing the rounds suggest that the Catalan giants had already struck a preliminary agreement worth 10 million Euros to sign the star earlier than 2014.

FC Barcelona World Champions (Photo: Getty Images)

Another scintillating performance by Leo Messi saw Barcelona dismantle Brazil's Santos 4-0 to claim the FIFA Club World Cup Championship.

Barca enter the record books as the only club to ever win the tournament twice, giving Pep Guardiola his 13th trophy since taking over at the helm in 2008.

Barca duly wrapped up the 2011 Club World Cup in Yokohama on Sunday with a one-sided 4-0 win over South American champions Santos in front of a full house of 68,166 fans.
The team from Sao Paulo in Brazil had looked likely to provide stiffer opposition than they eventually offered after their impressive 3-1 win over J-League champions Kashiwa Reysol in the semi-final on Wednesday at Toyota Stadium.

Yesterday's 4-0 thrashing of Santos was a result not many people were expecting, especially after their amazing semi final victory over Kashiwa Reysol. Many including myself were expecting Santos to put up a stiff fight if not go all the way.

However, once again Lionel Messi was the hero for the Catalans as he scored a brace to see the European champions add yet another trophy to their cabinet.

Write off Barcelona at your peril: The European champions show their worth at the Santiago Bernabeu - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Saturday's El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid lived up to all expectations; there was passion, spell-bounding skill and goals the only thing missing was the heavily anticipated Madrid victory.

When Karim Benzema scored the opener for Real Madrid inside the first minute, some assumed it was going to be a long night for Barcelona's players and the club's supporters. However, the Catalans eventually turned the result around in another painful defeat for outspoken coach Jose Mourinho who, as expected, pretended the loss was not damaging.

Real Madrid players have lamented their 3-1 loss to arch rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu last night with defender Sergio Ramos saying that losing to the Catalans is always more hurtful.

Speaking to the press after the loss, Ramos was also quick to offer his congratulatory remarks to Barca.

Karim Benzema's record making goal was not enough to keep Madrid's impressive home record intact as Los Blancos suffered a 3-1 home defeat to arch rivals Barcelona last night.

The win saw the Catalans pip Madrid into first place although both clubs remain level on 37 points.

Another El Clasico is upon us Real Madrid hosts archrivals FC Barcelona at the majestic Santiago Bernabeu for a Saturday night La Liga match (kickoff is at 10pmCET/9pmGMT/4pmEST).

This will be, remarkably, the 7th El Clasico of 2011: there were the four matches packed into 18 days last spring (two meetings in the Champions League semifinal, the Copa del Rey final, and their 2nd La Liga match of the season), plus there were two legs to the preseason Spanish Super Copa.

Real Madrid and Barcelona prepare to face off tomorrow in the much awaited clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. The match will offer hosts Madrid the chance to extend their lead over Barcelona should they win and keep them level on points with the Catalans in case they lose.

A loss however is not on the mind of Jose Mourinho who is looking to extend Madrid's 9 game home winning streak.

Sergio Roberto celebrates goal against BATE (Photo: REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino)

Barcelona's youngsters turned in a dominant performance, routing Belarus champions Bate Borisov 4-0 in the final round of Champions League group play.

With first place in Group H already wrapped up and el clasico just days away, Guardiola chose to rest the majority of his senior team, letting a largely Barca B squad take the field for a taste of European football.

The two historic sides of Spanish football will face-off this weekend in a highly anticipated match expected to carry massive repercussions for the remainder of the season. Real Madrid are on top of the standings with a three point advantage over bitter rivals Barcelona. There is no lost love between the two sides and the regional and geopolitical factors add to the intensity of this clash.

FIFA's final 3 man shortlist for the coveted World Player of the year award were announced yesterday and usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made the Cut. Joining the pair is Messi's Barcelona team mate Xavi.

Messi who has won the award on two previous occasions, is looking to make history by wining the award for the third consecutive year at the award gala ceremony in Zurich's Kongresshaus on January 9th.

Xabi Alonso has revealed that Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo has still not returned to training ahead of Saturday's crucial La Liga clash with Sporting Gijon.

Ronaldo picked up an ankle injury following a strong challenge by Luis Perea during last weekend's ill-tempered derby win over city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Alexis scores against Rayo (Photo: REUTERS/Albert Gea)

Barcelona returned to their winning ways on Tuesday night with a four-goal thrashing of La Liga minnows Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou.

The word echoing through the stadium: maravilla.

Between cheers for David "Mara" Villa, Alexis Sanchez, "el niño maravilla" of Chile, and the sheer majesty of Messi's highlight-reel goal, one couldn't help but marvel.

FC Barcelona handed surprise defeat against Getafe (Photo: DANI POZO/AFP/Getty Images)

Barcelona saw their 27-game unbeaten streak come to an end, as Juan Valera's 67th minute header gifted Getafe a 1-0 victory at the Coliseo Alfonso Perez in Madrid.

The defeat marks the first time Barca have lost a match since April 30th, having gone unbeaten in 21 fixtures so far this season.

Can Liverpool or Arsenal stop Manchester City? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

If you're a football fan, there's a lot to look forward to in the remainder of November, as we will see some of the game's biggest names go head-to-head on multiple fronts over the next week-plus.

Watch the best of Premier League action this Christmas with Sky HD.

So after a much awaited night of footballing action, i have to say i am very disappointed. Disappointed because not only did Milan lose (which i was not expecting), but also because of other shocking results across the continent.

Before i get into the Chelsea game, i just want to give my 2 cents worth on the Milan v Barcelona tie.

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.

Yet another former Barcelona player is making news for criticising coach Pep Guardiola. Bojan Krkic the young Spaniard who had failed to make a meaningful impact for the Catalans this year, has found himself trying to bring clarity to the comments he made in the summer.

Bojan who is now with Italian club Roma, said that there was no bad blood between him and Guardiola and that contrary to Ibrahimovic's story, he does not have anything against the Barca coach.

What a fine weekend it was across Europe as a number of top notch clubs produced fantastic results in the respective leagues. The biggest result was definitely, Real Madrid's 7-1 home win over Osasuna.

In neighbouring Italy, champions AC Milan beat Catania 4-0 to move into 3rd place as the eagerly awaited clash between Juventus and Napoli failed to get underway as bad weather hampered the fixture.

The verdict is out... UN GRAN SÍ!! More La Liga matches should kick off at noon (sudden death to your Saturday night hangovers) simply because the natural lighting at the stadiums are amazing. Madrid looked like they were playing out their FIFA 12 characters in real time at the Bernabeu yesterday.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has slammed reports that forwards Messi and Villa do not see eye to eye. These latest reports are emerging on the backdrop of former Barcelona player Zlatan Ibrahimovic's public rants and displeasure with the treatment he received while he was a Barca player.

Spanish newspaper Superdeporte claims that there is a trouble brewing at the Nou Camp between 2 of the clubs top players.