Osasuna v FC Barcelona Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds La Liga 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

FC Barcelona are seven points back in the title race as they travel to face Osasuna in the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga). The match will take place at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain on Saturday, February 11, 2012.

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.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is optimistic that manager Pep Guardiola will put sign a contract extension soon.

Guardiola is known to prefer signing rolling one-year deals and with his current contract expiring at the end of the season, the former Barca skipper has yet to give any clear indications on his future at the Nou Camp.

Luis Suarez And so the villain enters stage left. After nine games out, Luis Suarez returned for twenty minutes on Monday, but it will be his second game that will raise the intrigue this Premier League weekend. Suarez announced this week that Manchester United fans booing him would simply make him play better, but one [.

Welcome to the Friday Crackovia Club, where it's always a party in here before the weekend! Of course, Crackovia is one of the most craziest football sketch shows from Catalonia and this week was all about Barcelona's quest to slow down Madrid using some insane dressing room rituals.

Barcelona are through to the Copa Del Rey final where they will play Athletic Bilbao after a 2-0 win over Valencia at the Camp Nou. Goals by Cesc Fabregas and a late strike by midfield maestro Xavi helped seal a 2-0 win (3-1 on aggregate) for the Spanish champions. Pep Guardiola's men will now face [.

The are important matches in domestic cup play across a number of countries, none of which is more intriguing than the Coppa Italia battle between AC Milan and Juventus.

The top two teams in Serie A open their anticipated semifinal tie at the San Siro after easing past top-notch competition in the quarterfinals.

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.

Pep Guardiola took a leaf out of Bastian Schweinsteiger's Basketball Book over the week and watched a game with his children Marius and Maria (above). Of course, the only game on his mind tonight is Barcelona's Copa del Rey semi-final against Valencia when his newly crowned "Laureus World Team of the Year" take them on in the Nou Camp.

The accolades keep coming for Pep Guardiola's Barcelona as they were yesterday named the Laureus team of the year. Here is what Barcelona President Sandro Rosell had to say after the award ceremony:

"The nominations of Abidal, Messi and the club are an honour, and it will help us keep on working and thinking about how to keep up this level in the future.

FC Barcelona vs. Brazil in 1999 - The Full Match

The beginning of the week is never enjoyable, but let's lessen the dosage of suffering with a glorious find on Youtube. 1999 was FC Barcelona's centenary year and the whole season was quite the celebration of everything FC Barcelona.

Carles Puyol pulled off an incredible double roulette during Barcelona's 1-1 Copa Del Rey 1st leg draw with Valencia in a move which mimicked French legend Zinedine Zidane Classy stuff from the Barca centre-back who put in a superb display for Pep Guardiola's men. It was one of them 'did I just see that?

Two years ago it was Cristiano Ronaldo gazing into a hand mirror, Last year it was Jose Mourinho kicking Pep Guardiola in the junk, but at midnight this March 19 Valencia's Las Fallas festival will stay with that Jose-on-Barca violence by burning a giant paper mache version of Mourinho poking Tito Vilanova in the eyeball.

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.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has criticised the performance levels of Spanish referees this season.

Rosell's club felt aggrieved by the decision of the Spanish federation's competitions committee not to punish Real Madrid utility man Pepe for appearing to stamp on Barca forward Lionel Messi's hand earlier this month.

Earlier this month FIFA handed out their annual awards highlighting the best the game had to offer in 2011 and recipients included the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Pep Guardiola.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

It looked to be another long afternoon at the Emirates after Arsenal found themselves down two to Aston Villa at halftime and on the verge of going out of the FA Cup. Relief came quickly, however, as the Gunners scored three goals within 10 minutes to move on to the fifth round.

You can argue that everything Barca does these days is being scrutinized or subject to unfair criticism. But it's hard to deny the club's latest tribute to a journalist who passed away and spent his life reporting on the club. That's affectionate dedication for you!

Last week prior to the club's normal press conference, first-team players Xavi, Puyol, Valdés and Iniesta along with Pep Guardiola observed a silent tribute to Dani Montesinos, who formerly worked for Spanish TV and Barca TV.

Welcome to the Friday Crackovia Club your weekly special on the best comedy sketch show from Spain! This week, watch as Mourinho instructs Pepe on how to make a correct 'Live TV' apology. It's a little stab at last week's Leo Messi hand-stepping saga which was followed by an emotionless apology from the defender.

Barcelona's Copa del Rey semi-finals win against Real Madrid has been tempered by a growing injury list that will make their clash against Villarreal on Saturday harder.

Andres Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez both limped off in last night's 2-2 draw, which secured a 4-3 aggregate win.

That means Barca will head to El Madrigal missing six players in total, as David Villa, Ibrahim Afellay and Andreu Fontas are already injured, while Seydou Keita is at the African Nations Cup.

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.

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 horas
VER EN VIVOOPCION 1OPCION 2 OPCION 3
OPCION 4
ROJA 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.

The rematch of last week's el clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid will be played out tonight and amigas y chicos, the bloody war has already begun! Although both sides are trying to express solidarity among themselves, it's absurd to be all calm and polite when we know the outcome of tonight is going to make either Mourinho or Pep tear up their team sheets at the press conference.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Internazionale Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal. So many great clubs in the heart of Europe but not one has yet made a major transfer purchase in this January transfer window. To some degree or another, it could be argued, that each and every one of those aforementioned clubs need at least one single player, if not more in a few different positions.

NOTICIAS

There's nothing a little mid-match Tango won't do for you just ask Valencia's Pablo Hernandez! The striker was highly instrumental in Los Che's 4-1 Copa del Ray win over city rival Levante last night setting up the goals and missing a few for himself.

"I never knew that music like that was possible!"

After watching the second half of yesterday's Clasico, I'm beginning to see Mourinho as Salieri to Guardiola's Mozart. When a team of Madrid's caliber gets schooled and forced into errant passes and frantic individual dribbles on offense and desperate tackles on defense, huffing shadow-chasing and hapless outreached hands pleading for offside calls that won't come, the opposition must be touched by the divine; the divine stringing of passes, la pelota always kept just a fleeting inch away from Madrid's lunging cleats, and importantly, the divine total defense, which at one point saw Özil attempting to dribble into the box only to be surrounded by seven (7!

It's no wonder why Pepe is nicknamed "The Butcher."

The Real Madrid defender, who is either known for physical play or malicious attacks on his opponents depending on who you talk to, could face disciplinary action for deliberately stomping on Lionel Messi's hand during yesterday's Clasico.

Goals by Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal gave Barcelona a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa Del Rey quarter-final clash. The Spanish and European champions came from a goal down to win seal a fine 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu leaving Pep Guardiola's men in prime position to [..

Yet another Clásico the two Spanish superpowers meet again today, in what will be their 8th battle in the past 9 months (see table below). Real Madrid hosts Barcelona at the majestic Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, for the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal tie. Kickoff is at a very Spanish 10pm in Madrid, which corresponds to 4pmET/1pmPT here in the US (where ESPN Deportes and GolTV will be televising the match, and ESPN3.

Here we go again.

The world's top rivalry takes center stage when Real Madrid hosts Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals (4 p.m., GOLTV/ESPN3.com), the first of two meetings in a week's time that will determine which club advances to the semifinals.

By Alan Duffy

Those overpaid, underworked suits ensconced in the plush environs of Geneva have taken time out from their golf outings and gala receptions to put together their team of the year for 2011 which has been compiled from over 4.

COPA DEL RAY
Real Madrid vs Barcelona 22:00

Lo maravilloso!! The Day of Reckoning has arrived. Put away your Vicente Del Bosque Panini stickers right NOW because the first el clasico of the year between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be fought out at the Bernabeu tonight.

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.

Barcelona defeated Osasuna 2-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey and set up another El Clasico clash with Real Madrid. Goals by Alexis Sanchez and youngster Sergi Roberto cancelled out Dejan Lekic's opener and secured a 2-1 win (1-6 on aggregate) for the Spanish champions. Pep Guardiola's men thus progressed into [.

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.

The legend of Pep Guardiola continues as he was named the best manager of 2011, ahead of José Mourinho (Real Madrid), last year's winner, and Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United).

Guardiola, who was recently named the world's best manager by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), picks up yet another acknowledgement to his brilliant career.

The legend of Pep Guardiola continues as he was named the best manager of 2011, ahead of José Mourinho (Real Madrid), last year's winner, and Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United).

Guardiola, who was recently named the world's best manager by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), picks up yet another acknowledgement to his brilliant career.

STARTERS
Did you see the trio of goals that Clint Dempsey scored for Fulham in the FA Cup this past weekend. He is been on FIRE lately. See those goals right here.
dN
Landon Donovan also contributed to an Everton win in the FA Cup putting in a corner kick that was finished off with a fine header for the games first goal.

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.