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.
Welcome to Offbeat Wednesday, where we bring you the wacky and fun side of football! This week,
it's all about birthday celebrations. From Neymar's Birthday boat extravaganza in Brazil and Sara
Carbonero's birthday celebrations to Ronaldo's new Lamborghini, it was all about the
fiestas!
Brazil's wonder kid of the moment, Neymar, turned 20 over the weekend and what
better way to celebrate it than in true carioca style at a club?
It was a depleted Barcelona side that turned up in Valencia tonight, but it was also a team that
does't give and they got a credible 1-1 draw in their Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg. Barca will
be heavy favorites now to finish this tie off at the Camp Now.
Barca were given an early scare when Roberto Soldado raced onto a through ball, but Pinto came
racing out of his goal to slide in and clear the danger, appearing to use his hand as he did so,
only for play to be waved on.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted his regret at selling Ryan Shawcross to
Stoke four years ago, conceding that the decision to offload the promising center-half was down to
a preference to develop Gerard Pique at Old Trafford.
Pique has since returned to native Barcelona, leaving Fergie frustrated at the manner in which
Shawcross had to depart United.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted his regret at selling Ryan Shawcross to
Stoke four years ago, conceding that the decision to offload the promising center-half was down to
a preference to develop Gerard Pique at Old Trafford.
Pique has since returned to native Barcelona, leaving Fergie frustrated at the manner in which
Shawcross had to depart United.
Messi shows frustration in draw against Villarreal (Photo: REUTERS/Heino Kalis)
Barcelona saw their La Liga title aspirations take a serious hit after suffering a goalless draw
against Villarreal at El Madrigal on Saturday night.
Another road game, another setback.
It has been the same story all year long; with Barca now having dropped 13 points in league play
away from the Camp Nou this season.
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.
Pedro celebrates goal that moves Barcelona through to next round of Copa (Photo:
REUTERS/Albert Gea)
In a battle of titans, Barcelona held on to defeat Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate and eliminate
the defending Champions from the Copa del Rey.
It was everything a clasico should be: a high-octane encounter of offensive brilliance and
heart-stopping tension.
Today, Real Madrid played as it should have in the first leg. The first half began so brightly
for Real with Gonzalo Higuain the main culprit for not finishing those chances. Gerard Pique was
caught napping and the Argentinian striker should have done much, much better. Minutes later, Pinto
was barely able to foil Higuain whose timing was less than impeccable.
Bienvenida a Friday Crackovia Club! This is where the best
football sketch show in Catalonia gets its own personal space simply because you need to be
reminded of how brilliant it is. This week, Cristiano Ronaldo gets all emotional
at a press conference, where he later breaks into a song (channeling Sade, one of his favourite
singers, perhaps?
It's been an incredible eighteen months for Gareth Bale and a period that has ended with our
Welsh left winger being named as the only British player in UEFA's team of 2011.
Bale took his place among the likes of Barcelona's Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres
Iniesta and Lionel Messi as well as Real Madrid's Cristinao Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Marcelo.
Barcelona are well placed to reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after they beat old
rivals Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Once again Jose Mourinho changed his system playing Barcelona. It seems that Mourinho has one
system for Barcelona and one for everyone else in Europe.
This week's In The Stands WAG of The Week is none other than Shakira the current squeeze of
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. The Colombian singer-come-songwriter can usually be seen around
big UEFA and FIFA galas as on-lookers purr on in dreamland. Most recently, the 34-year-old was
known for global hits like 'Waka Waka', 'She Wolf' [.
Welcome to Offbeat Wednesday, where it's all about the Football Gossip! Today, read about
the Persies' short trip to Dubai, the ladies at the Ballon D'or, Irina Shayk's Birthday celebration
and Sthefany Brito's latest ad campaign!
To kick things off, here's a delightful photo of Robin van Persie's family
posing with the legend.
Iker Casillas
Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Nemanja Vidic, Dani Alves
Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi.
"Rooney and Vida In FIFA World XI" was originally published at The
Republik of Mancunia.
Forget Lionel Messi, it was all about Homare Sawa's
kimono (traditional Japanese costume) at the FIFA Ballon D'or awards in Zurich last night!
The captain of the Japanese women's team and winner of the FIFA Women's Ballon
d'Or lit up the stage with that outfit which should make her countrymen and women
extremely proud today.
Lionel Messi won the FIFA Balon d'OR for the second consecutive time after the inception of the
award last year. With this victory he has won the FIFA World Player of Year and Balon d'Or for the
third consecutive time. It was a no btainer from the time the three man shortlist was
announced.
Lionel Messi was voted World Player of the Year for the third year in a row with Cristiano
Ronaldo and Xavi a distant second and third respectively. Barcelona's Pep Guardiola won the manager
of the year awrd having guided Barcelona to a unique double of La Liga and Champions League titles,
Sir Alex ferguson who received an award for services to football was second and Jose Mourinho third
in the Manager's list.
Sir Alex Ferguson has spent 25 years as the manager of Manchester United and he has won the Premier
League 12 times, FA Cup 5 times, League Cup 4 times, the Champions League twice, 10...
Continue to the full story
Bienvenidaaaaa! We know it's Monday and you're probably still nursing
that hangover from last Saturday but Gracias a Dios for football because
Villarreal held Valencia to a 2-2 draw last night and we
know the town folks are celebrating!
This photo of the Moc Moc trio is clearly missing
Puyol- except Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique are
making a different type of toast that doesn't involve their Mop Haired amic! They're both
celebrating their reunion and return from the Premier League to
Barcelona.
Like Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas before him it seems that Oriol Romeu is already flirting
with a return to his boyhood club. Despite only signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2011, just a
few months ago, his rise has been well noted. Last season he was in the Barcelona B side and this
year he is a first team starter for Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea side.
The Friday Crackovia Club
Welcome to the Friday Crackovia Club... a Futbolita tradition, where we feature one of the best
comedy football shows out of Barcelona! In this week's episode, watch as the Barcelona first team
attends a Christmas dinner with the B-squad, and meanly banishes them to the 'smaller
table', complete with a children's menu!
"No Borges, I ain't touchin your ass! Not for the next yellow card of this tournament!" / via AP
Photo
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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
By THOMAS FLOYD
Perhaps the fiercest rivalry the beautiful game has to offer will be renewed at the Bernabeu on
this weekend, and -- what's new? -- the stakes are high.
With Real Madrid three points clear of FC Barcelona with a game in hand, Saturday's Clasico (4
p.
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.
Images via twitter, AP Photo/Manu Fernandez.
There's a neatly trimmed pattern forming here, gang.
Remember last week, when Cesc Fabregas finally buckled under growing international pressure
(from us, mainly) to cut his monstrous mop? Who was present at the scene? One Gerard Pique.
Barcelona's Gerard Pique will be eligible to face Real Madrid next week after escaping further
punishment for the caution he received against Rayo Vallecano.
Pique was booked for time-wasting in the 83rd minute of Barca's 4-0 win on Tuesday, his fifth
caution of the season with the one-match ban ruling him out of this weekend's meeting with
Levante.
By Chris Wright
'Tis the season to flog computer games mercilessly, and EA have already dipped their bread
releasing a FIFA 12 Christmas viral that sees Gerard Pique, a pre-transplant Wayne Rooney, bonsai
fanatic Tim Cahill, a banjo-wielding Kaka and wee Jack Wilshere all acting their respective asses
off in the name of the shill.
Barcelona star Daniel Alves believes that the media furore over Gerard Pique's booking against
Rayo Vallecano proves there is an agenda against his club.
Pique has been pillored in the media for collecting a yellow card for time wasting during the
closing stages of their 4-0 win over Rayo, which rules him out of their clash for Levante.
Image via Gerard Pique
We would like to take at least some of the credit for this event; our case against Cesc and his
hair had to have something to do with him taking action to rectify the terrible
situation.
According to Twitter evidence, his sister Carlota Fabregas is the one who snipped away at the
problem.
It's getting closer to the big day, so it's no surprise that EA Sports have released a TV
commercial featuring Wayne Rooney and Gerard Pique to promote its FIFA 12 game in the build-up to
the shopping season (and Christmas, ...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.epltalk.com to read the entire article
What's a picnic if it doesn't involve... er, soup and the Moc Moc crew of FC Barcelona? / via El
Mundo
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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.
It will go down in the records book as a comfortable 4-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano at the Camp
Nou tonight. But this game was much more than that. After the weekend's shocking 1-0 defeat to
Getafe, Barcelona found itself in the unusual position of looking up at Real Madrid. Before
tonight's kick-off Barca was six points behind Madrid and Pep Guardiola's team knew that they could
not allow that gap to grow any wider if they were to have any hope of retaining their La Liga
crown.
"(David Luiz plays football as if he is) controlled by a 10-year-old in the crowd on a
Playstation."
-Sky Sports pundit and all-around good guy Gary
Neville
Bob's response?
How can you not love this kid?
Speaking of Bob, Andre Villas-Boas jumped into the fray today amid the plethora of criticism the
young Brazilian defender has been receiving of late.
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.
FC Barcelona made shot work of the visiting Zaragoza side with a brilliant 4-0 victory at the
Camp Nou. With this win, Barca had briefly moved to the top of standing, equalising with Real
Madrid, who will be playing Valencia shortly. In a night after the international break, Pique,
Messi, Puyol, Villa all scored for Barca.
We fear that all of these book-related events are going to make us do something crazy, so we
present you this last one before drinking away the memories.
It wouldn't be a proper scene if these two were necking in the corner front row.
Joan Pique (Gerard's dad) was in good company Thursday evening at the presentation of his book
"Dues Vides" in Barcelona.
