Month: August 2011

Barca, without defence to receive Villarreal

Puyol, Piqué, Adriano and Maxwell are injured, while Dani Alves must complete a one-match ban, which carries from the last match of the league last season. This makes it the right side where the main Problems will be.

For the rest of the defence, Pep has the options to place Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets and central or Fontàs Andreu. Eric Abidal occupy the left-back. Pep Guardiola said yesterday he hopes to have both Puyol soon as Maxwell, possibly after the international break, but first they must face the match against Villarreal.

La Liga – Strike action ended in Spain

The strike action that delayed the Spanish season’s start has now ended, and the weekend’s games will go ahead as planned.

The Spanish league (LFP) and the players’ union (AFE) have struck an agreement which means the season can start on Saturday.

A date has not yet been set for last week’s cancelled games to be played on.

The union demanded greater protection for players’ wages that have not been paid at clubs that have gone into financial administration.

The AFE says around 50 million euros ($72m) is owed to 200 footballers from the end of last season.

Barça will play against Villarreal at Camp Nou on August 29th. A chance to finally see Barça and Lionel Messi play football again 🙂

Barcelona FC vs Villareal CF  (Compare prices for tickets)
Date: August 29th 2011
Venue: Camp Nou stadium, Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona could stand between AC Milan and Champions League glory

Coach Allegri insists the seven-times European Cup winners AC Milan will be ready for whoever they come out of the hat alongside in Thursday’s draw for the group stages of the Champions League in Monaco.

“I am convinced that, with a full squad, we are on a par with Real Madrid,” he stated. “The only exception is Barcelona“.

“Last season, we went out of the competition against Tottenham because of some bad luck and several injuries.”

“I do not have to build a team, but I have to improve it. Milan are not perfect.

“Let me give you an example – when Barcelona lose the ball, they try to regain possession at a frenetic pace. That is one aspect we have to do better in.”

Fabregas “I needed fresh challenge”

He told Barca TV: “The easiest thing would have been to stay at Arsenal. I’m the captain, playing every game. We are always in the Champions League, always fighting for titles. For all that, and the tough competition here, perhaps now might be the worst time to return to Barca. It’s going to be really tough to make the starting XI, but I needed a new challenge in my life.”

He added: “I thought I’d stagnated a bit, and needed a change of scenery. I needed a special motivation to bring the best out of myself.”

“I think that Xavi still has some years left in him! He does things you wouldn’t believe!”

“I haven’t come to retire Xavi. I came here to play with Xavi, to compete with Xavi, and to win with Xavi. What I’m saying about Xavi also goes for Andres and Thiago. I think altogether we make a very good group. I know what we’ll do. With the great group we are, we’ll do great things together.”

“The last months I’ve been under a lot of pressure,” he admitted. “Mentally it’s really tiring, but it finally happened and I’m very happy to be back at Barca.”

“It is partly my fault that it has been so complicated, for having left. Not in my wildest dreams had I imagined that one day I would play for the Barca first team. Not as a child, nor playing with Arsenal had I thought I’d live a day like Monday.”

Gerard Pique has accused Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho of “wrecking Spanish football”

Lionel Messi scored to seal a 5-4 aggregate victory over Real in a encounter that saw red cards after a rough tackel caused everyone to boil over at the end, resulting in a fight in which Mourinho appeared to poke Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye.

“Mourinho is wrecking Spanish football,” Pique said. “People are looking for culprits but they are in Madrid. Someone needs to get the video, analyse it and say who is to blame.”

“We hope that on Thursday everyone will be talking about a great game of football and not the melee,” added Pique.

“It isn’t the first time this has happened … it is always the same people. Someone needs to sort this out.”

In the post-match news conference, Mourinho accused Barca players of going to ground easily.

“Marcelo got a red card because we all know what happens after tackles in certain areas of the pitch,” the Portuguese said.

“It was a spectacular game from the first to last minute. But from the first minute of the second half, and I don’t criticise it because I know people do it, the ballboys hid the balls”. (Barca were winning 2-1 at this point).

“It happens with small teams when they find themselves in difficulties.”

When asked about the incident, Mourinho replied: “I have been polite and played like a man and not fallen to the ground at the first touch. I don’t know who Vilanova is.”

Barca coach Pep Guardiola said: “The images will speak for themselves. This is going to end up badly if it isn’t stopped soon.”

FC BARCELONA FINANCIAL BALANCE

FC BARCELONA FINANCIAL BALANCE

SETTLEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2008/09 SEASON

Trading income: 415.4 million euros
Operating costs: 486.9 million euros
Ebitda (Earnings before tax and depreciations): -82.6 million euros
Operating profit or loss: +22.4 million euros
Income / financial expenses: -71.5 million euros
Net profit or loss: -11.1 million euros
Cash flow: -79.6 million euros

BUDGET 2009/10 SEASON

Trading income: 420.2 million euros
Operating costs: 428.1 million euros
Operating profit or loss: -7.9 million euros
Financial and extraordinary profit or loss: -13.5 million euros
Before tax net profit or loss: -21.4 million euros

Javier Faus revealed the audit numbers: “Barcelona’s debt as of today is the biggest in the club’s history. That doesn’t mean anything but that we are not comfortable working with this debt. The current debt is the biggest in the club’s history, even greater than in 2003. The losses back in 2002-2003 in Gaspart’s era were the biggest in the club’s history at the time and on top of that the income that Barca has today is much bigger than back in 2002-2003. After explaining all this, I still prefer the club’s current picture.”

Here are the differences (in million euros):
Category Laporta Rosell
Benefits 445 408
Expenses 428 477
Balance 11 -77
Debt 200 442

As you can see there is a difference of 88 million Euros.

2011 season
Barcelona made a smaller loss than expected last season and are confident of returning to profit in the 2011-12 campaign after two years of deficits, vice-president for economic affairs Javier Faus has said.
La Liga – Barca report smaller loss

The Spanish and European champions posted a pre-tax loss of 9.3 million euros (£8.2m) in the year to the end of June, less than half the 21.4 million euros expected and down from 83 million euros in the year-earlier period, Faus said.

Winning the Champions League, the club’s new sponsorship deal with Qatar Foundation, a strong turnout at the Camp Nou stadium and a surge in visitors to the club’s museum had helped trim the deficit, he added.

“Our obligation is to make a profit from next season and we will do that,” he said. “For the first time in two years we will present a budget that foresees profit.”

Operating income rose to 473.4 million euros, an increase of 14 per cent compared with the 2009-10 season, while costs were up 10.4 per cent to 472.6 million euros, made higher by win bonuses to players following the club’s domestic and European successes.

Net debt fell to 363.7 million euros from 430.6 million.

Puyol nears full fitness

Puyol told the Barcelona FCs official website: “I’m feeling better every day, but the recovery is slow. Everything is going little by little.

“As Doctor Cugat(who operated on him) put it, I’m not in charge here, it’s the knee that is.

“I’ve got no problems with my knee any more, I don’t know how long I’ll be before I’m back, but I want it to be as soon as possible, when I am fully 100%.

“Everybody who knows me will understand that I am really keen to get back. I’ve been a long time with this injury –six and a half months. I am really keen to get back”.

Barca midfielder Afellay out for five weeks with injury

Barcelona midfielder Ibrahim Afellay has torn a muscle in his left thigh and will be out of action for up to five weeks, the European champions said on Sunday.

The Dutch international picked up the injury in Barca’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Manchester United in Washington DC on Saturday, but will stay with the team as they continue their pre-season tour of the United States.

Afellay will miss the La Liga curtain-raiser against Real Madrid when the league champions take on King’s Cup winners in the Spanish Super Cup on Aug 14 and 17.

The Liga season kicks off on the weekend Aug 20-21, get your tickets here