Barça news

Leo Messi sets new record with 48 goals in one season

Leo Messi has set a new record yesterday with his goal in the Champions League quarter-finals against Shakhtar Donetsk. He has scored 48 goals so far this season and now has the record for most goals scored during a football season for a FC Barcelona player:

He has scored 29 goals in the Spanish League (with 7 matches left), 9 in the Champions League (with at least 2 matches left), 7 in the Spanish Cup (with 1 match left), and 3 in the Spanish Super Cup.

He scored 47 goals last season (tied with Brazilian Ronaldo for best as a FC Barceona player) and is now en route to beat the Liga record held by Puskas (49 goals for Real Madrid in the 59/60 season). Have a look at last year’s 47 goals below:

FC Barcelona set to name best side vs Shakthar Donetsk

“We are making a mistake if we play with the Real Madrid games on our minds,” said Guardiola, FC Barcelona‘s coach.

“There are 90 minutes still to play. The idea is to go out there to win the game and try to score one or two goals.”

“That’s the idea we have always had and the one we’ll maintain. Tomorrow we’ll see how people are feeling physically.”

“Each game is a rehearsal for the next but this one is important enough not to think about anything else.”

Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu was not holding out much hope of causing an upset on Tuesday.

“It is clear there is very little chance for us to progress to the next stage,” he said at a news conference. “But we want to go out with our heads held high.”

FC Barcelona would reach once more the semi-finals of the Champions League if they go through the quarter-finals stage against Shakhtar Donetsk, and they may face arch-rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals for another Clásico.

Champions League Lineups: FC Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk

FC Barcelona – Shakhtar Donetsk
Champions League
Quarter finals
Wednesday 06 April 2010
Camp Nou, Barcelona

The line ups for tonight’s Champions League quarter finals at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.

FC Barcelona : Valdés; Alves, Busquets, Piqué, Adriano; Mascherano, Xavi Keita; Messi, Villa, Iniesta

Shakhtar: Pyatov; Srna, Ishchenko, Rakitskiy, Rat, Costa, Mkhitaryan, Hübschman, William, Jadson; Luiz Adriano

FC Barcelona vs Shakhtar

Match facts and stats ahead of the first leg of FC Barcelona‘s Champions League quarter-final with Shakhtar Donetsk at the Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi is struggling with a leg injury sustained on international duty with Argentina. He was only used as a substitute in the 1-0 La Liga win at Villarreal on Saturday. “In Villarreal I did not feel good,” Messi said. The World Player of the Year is still expected to start in a Barca side that is missing Carles Puyol (knee), while Maxwell and Pedro hope to return after injury. Eric Abidal was present at training on Tuesday following surgery on a liver tumour, but did not take part.

Former Barcelona defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy is doubtful with an ankle injury, while Olexandr Kucher misses out. Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho is available after seven months out but is not expected to start. Star Brazilian trio Jadson, Douglas Costa and Luiz Adriano all start.

MATCH FACTS

The team that has knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League in the last seven seasons has gone on to lose their next knockout match.
Shakhtar have the best shooting accuracy of the eight teams left in the Champions League (57 per cent).
Barcelona have allowed their opponents fewer shots on target against them than any other team in the Champions League.
The Ukrainian side have won nine of their last 10 Champions league matches and scored 26 goals in those games.
Shakhtar have only won two of their 12 European games against Spanish sides but both of those victories were against Barcelona.
Shakhtar have won two and lost three of their six European games against Barcelona but they won 3-2 on their last visit to the Camp Nou.
Eduardo has scored four goals from just six shots on target in the Champions League this season.
Lionel Messi has scored 25 goals in his last 30 Champions League games and 14 in his last 11 starts
Shakhtar have conceded 138 fouls, more than any other team in this season’s Champions League.
Shakhtar have scored the most goals from outside the box in this season’s Champions League.
Lionel Messi has fired in 20 shots on target, more than any other player in the Champions League this season.

ODDS

Barcelona 1/5, Draw 11/2, Shakhtar 14/1

Champions League – Euro Club Index: Barcelona widen gap

Barcelona’s win and Real Madrid’s loss opens up Pep Guardiola’s side’s lead at the head of our ranking of Europe’s top clubs.

Barcelona’s win and Real Madrid’s loss opens up Pep Guardiola’s side’s lead at the head of our ranking of Europe’s top clubs.

HOW IT WORKS

This season we are using the Hypercube Infostrada Euro Club Index, which scientifically analyses hundreds of thousands of matches from the top divisions in all European nations as well as Europa League and Champions League games.
The Index takes into account all matches played over an eight-year period but with recent results carrying more weight than older ones. The most recent result has 20 times more impact than a result of three years ago.
The performance of a league’s teams in Champions League and Europa League reflects the rise or fall of the sporting level in that league. So, for example, if English teams perform well in Europe, all Premier League teams receive a small bonus in their ECI score. The ranking and its predictive power are thus made even more accurate.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho admitted that his side’s loss to Sporting Gijon – his first home league defeat in nine years – had all-but ended their La Liga hopes; Barcelona beat Villarreal 1-0 in a game as entertaining as Real’s was poor, opening up an eight-point lead with as many games remaining.

That result is reflected in our rankings as, while Real stay second, the gap increases from 185 to 274 points. Que pena, as they say in Madrid.

Otherwise there is no positional change in the top 10, with a bit of rotation in the bottom half of the top 20 that sees the same sides switch around a few domestic draws and wins here and there: Milan and Manchester City exploiting wins over Inter and Sunderland to move up two spots each, with Valencia gaining five places thanks to a win at Getafe.
Top 20

1 (1) Barcelona – 4194 points
2 (2) Real Madrid – 3920
3 (3) Manchester United – 3833
4 (4) Chelsea – 3576
5 (5) Porto – 3517
6 (7) Internazionale – 3403
7 (6) Arsenal – 3348
8 (8) Bayern Munich – 3275
9 (9) Marseille – 3236
10 (10) Shakhtar Donetsk – 3200
11 (15) Valencia – 3168
12 (14) AC Milan – 3165
13 (11) Lyon – 3156
14 (12) Tottenham – 3152
15(13) Benfica – 3148
16 (16) Zenit St Petersburg – 3086
17 (17) Villarreal – 3055
18 (20) Manchester City – 3052
19 (18) Lille – 3051
20 (19) Borussia Dortmund – 3028

FC Barcelona to play their matches at sea?

Catalan architect Emili Vidal has submitted plans for current European Champions FC Barcelona to play their future home matches in a brand new 150 000 capacity stadium on a man-made island in the Balearic sea. The artificial island is tentatively to be called ‘Illa Barcelona’.

FC Barcelona currently play their home matches at the Camp Nou which has a capacity of 98 000, but as one of – if not the biggest team in world football – demand to see them play is incredibly high. In 2007 FC Barcelona commissioned Norman Foster to re-design the Camp Nou, with the aim of increasing the capacity and modernizing the ageing stadium – however his designs were criticized for only increasing the capacity by 10 000.

‘Illa Barcelona’ would increase capacity for the reigning Spanish and European Champions to 150 000 and be as revolutionary as the team that would play in it. The idea of hosting sports and events at sea is not a new one however as anyone who has visited Singapore will tell you, where they have had a floating stadium since 2007.

Messi doubtful for Villarreal

Messi missed Argentina’s friendly with Costa Rica on Tuesday after pulling up with pain in the adductor muscle of his right leg during the warm-up in San Jose.

Argentina’s medical and coaching staff did not want to take a chance with Messi, who is set for a pivotal month of April with Barcelona.

The leaders face Villareal on Saturday then have two Champions League quarter-final legs against Shakhtar Donetsk as well as a double ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid – in the league and final

The highest earning players/managers in football today

The 10 highest-earning footballers

  1. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – £26.9 million
  2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – £23.9m
  3. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) – £18m
  4. Kaka (Real Madrid) – £16.7m
  5. David Beckham (LA Galaxy) – £16.5m
  6. Ronaldinho (Flamengo) – £15.9m
  7. Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) – £13.4
  8. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) – £12.3m
  9. Yaya Toure (Manchester City) – £11.9m
  10. Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – £11.5m

The five highest-earning managers

  1. Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid) – £11.7m
  2. Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) – £9.1m
  3. Rafael Benitez (ex-Inter Milan) – £8.8m
  4. Fabio Capello (England) – £7.4m
  5. Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) – £6m

FC Barcelona are World Champions

WORLD CHAMPIONS! FC Barcelona won the Clubs’ World Cup against Estudiantes (Argentina) after overtime. Pedro scored to tie the match with 2 minutes left in regulation and Messi gave the lead in overtime. This is FC Barcelona’s 6th title this year (Along with the Spanish League, Spanish Cup, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup). UNBELIVEBALE!

Estudiantes: Albil; Rodríguez, Cellay, Desábato, Ré (Rojo, min.90+1); Díaz Benítez (Sánchez, min.76), Verón, Braña; Enzo Pérez (Máxi Núñez, min.79), Boselli

FC Barcelona: Valdés; Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Abidal; Xavi, Busquets (Touré, min.79), Keita (Pedro, min.46); Messi, Ibrahimovic, Henry (Jeffrén, min.82)

Goals: 1-0, min.37: Boselli. 1-1, min.89: Pedro. 1-2, min. 110; Messi

Venue: Zyed Sports City, Abu Dhabi. Attendace: 45.000

Leo Messi is Ballon d’or 2009

The 2009 Ballon d’or is Blaugrana. Lionel Messi has been voted ballon d’or by the French magazine “France Football”. This trophy is an achievement for the fantastic year for all FC Barcelona player… He is the first FC Barcelona player to win it since Ronaldinho in 2005.

Lionel Messi in 2009:

  • Spanish League: 31 games – 23 goals
  • Champions League: 12 games – 9 goals
  • Spanish League Winner
  • Champions League Winner
  • Spanish Cup Winner
  • Spanish Super Cup Winner
  • European Super Cup Winner

The classification:

  1. Lionel Messi – FC Barcelona : 473 pts
  2. Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United and Real Madrid : 233 pts
  3. Xavi – FC Barcelona : 170 pts
  4. Iniesta – FC Barcelona : 149 pts
  5. Samuel Eto’o – FC Barcelona and Inter Milan : 75 pts
  6. Kaka – Milan AC and Real Madrid : 58 pts
  7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Inter Milan and FC Barcelona : 50 pts
  8. Wayne Rooney – Manchester United : 35 pts
  9. Didier Drogba – Chelsea: 33 pts
  10. Steven Gerrard – Liverpool : 32 pts

Champions League: FC Barcelona 2-0 Dynamo Kiev

FC Barcelona won an easy match against Dynamo Kiev in the 2nd round of the Champions League (2-0) Messi and Pedro both scored.

FC Barcelona: Valdés; Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Abidal; Xavi, Touré (Busquets, min.68), Keita; Messi, Ibrahimovic (Jeffrén, min.85), Iniesta (Pedro, min.46)

Dynamo Kiev: Shovkovskiy; Eremenko, Khacheridi, Leandro Almeida, Magrao (Betao, min.73); Yussuf (Ghioane, min.46), Vukojevic; Gusev (Ninkovic, min.86), Shevchenko, Yamolenko, Milevskiy

Goals: 1-0, min.25: Messi. 2-0, min.76: Pedro

Venue: Camp Nou Stadium. Attendance: 68.221

Spanish League classification – 2008-2009 season

Spanish League Champion: FC Barcelona

Qualified for the Champions League :

  • FC Barcelona
  • Real Madrid

Qualified for the preliminary round of the Champions League :

  • FC Sevilla
  • Atletico Madrid

Qualified for the Europa cup (UEFA cup) :

  • Villareal
  • FC Valencia

Relegated in 2nd division :

  • Recreativo Huelva
  • C.D. Numancia
  • Osasuna

Best offense: FC Barcelona with 105 goals

Best defence: FC Barcelona with 35 goals

Pichichi ranking :

  1. Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid) : 32 goals
  2. Samuel Eto’o (FC Barcelona : 30 goals
  3. David Villa (FC Valencia) : 28 goals
  4. Leo Messi (FC Barcelona) : 23 goals
  5. Gonzalo Higuain Real Madrid) : 21 goals
  6. Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona) : 19 goals
  7. Alvaro Sanchez Negredo ( Almeria) : 19 goals
  8. Frédéric Kanouté (FC Sevilla) : 18 goals
  9. Raul (Real Madrid) : 18 goals
  10. Sergio Agüero (Atletico Madrid) : 17 goals

Deportivo – FC Barcelona 1-1

Review of the football match Deportivo La Coruña – FC Barcelona – 30th of May 2009

Four days after their win in the Champions League Final against Manchester United, FC Barcelona was playing their last match of the Spanish League season at the Riazor against Deportivo La Coruña. Eto’o scored his 30th goal of the season in the second last minute of the game.

Continue reading “Deportivo – FC Barcelona 1-1”

FC Barcelona wins Champions League Final

They did it! FC Barcelona players finished their fantastic 2009 season with an incredible win over Manchester United in the Champions League final tonight in Rome Olympic Stadium. Samuel Eto’o and Leo Messi each scored in a technically breathtaking football match.

The first 5 minutes of the match were tense, with Manchester United keeping the ball and kicking three times at Victor Valdes. But FC Barcelona scored first in the 10th minute on its first offensive play of the match. Magistitailly put in an ideal position by Andres Iniesta, Samuel Eto’o got rid of Vidic and opened the score (1-0). Like in Paris in 2006, Eto’o scored the first goal of the final for the Blaugrana.

A dominating Barça

Metamorphosed after the first goal, the Catalan players were more active and kept the ball moving. Messi, in the 18th minute, tried his luck from 25 metres… A few inches over Van der Sar’s goal.

Iniesta and Xavi, as a magicians duet, were controlling the ball and trying to alert the forwards Eto’o and Henry on both sides and Messi in the middle. But it was only one goal ahead that FC Barcelona went back at half-time.

Messi for the win… and history

With 20 minutes to go, Messi scored in between the two giants Vidic and Ferdinand… with the head! The Argentine Genius took off and at the top of his extension, put the ball out of reach from Van der Sar (2-0)

Historical!

The Catalans have made history tonight. With a brand new defence (Alves and Abidal suspended, Marquez injured), they won their 3rd trophy of the season after the Spanish League and the King’s Cup earlier this month. Carles Puyol was a delighted captain, and Pep Guardiola, for his first season on the bench, was a thrilled coach…

FC Barcelona: Valdés; Puyol, Touré, Piqué, Sylvinho, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta (Pedro, m.92), Messi, Eto’o, Henry (Keita, m.71)

Manchester United: Van der Sar; O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Anderson (Tévez, m.46), Giggs (Scholes, m.75), Park (Berbatov, m.66), Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo

Goals:
First Half
10′ 1-0 : Eto’o
Second Half
70′ 2-0 : Messi

Henry and Iniesta train with first team

Good news for FC Barcelona: Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta trained with their teammates at the last training session before leaving for Rome for the Champions League Final on the 27th of May.

FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is confident about getting back two of his key players for the Champions League final against Manchester United in 2 days. Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta had an entire training session with their teammates, although the activity was not as challenging as the rest of the team. Thierry Henry was recovering from a blow to his right knee sustained on the 3rd of May against Real Madrid, while Iniesta tore his right thigh muscle on the 10th of May against Villareal.

FC Barcelona celebrate Championship with their fans at the Camp Nou

Despite losing at home against Osasuna, Barca players took time to celebrate the club 19th Championship title and King’s Cup title with their fans at the Camp Nou.

Congratulations to Pep Guardiola and his players : Valdes, Alves, Abidal, Xavi, Iniesta, Toure, Keita, Puyol, Messi, Henry, Eto’o, Bojan Krkic, Gudjonhsen and all their teammates for this fantastic season and best of luck for the Champions League final…

¡Campeones Campeones! ¡Oé, Oé Oé!

FC Barcelona finish 3rd – Liga 2007-08

Third in la Liga 2007-08

FC Barcelona finishes third in la Liga 2007-08 behind Real Madrid and Villarreal CF.

Poor results away from the Camp Nou were decisive. Bad performances away from home was made up for by good home results. They started the season by winning eight of their nine home fixtures, with the loss to Real Madrid being the first defeat. In the meantime, they had only won two of their first eight away matches.

The defeat against their rivals from Madrid at the Camp Nou (0-1) put Barça seven points behind Schuster’s side over the Christmas break. This gap was cut to just two points thanks to a magnificent start to the year in which Barça were undefeated in January and February, combined with the Madrid side showing its weaker side.

Barça became virtual leaders against Atletico Madrid at Vicente Calderón. However, they only managed to clinched 3 more victories in the 13 remaining matches. Real Madrid would win la Liga 2007-08, in front of Villareal.

A new coach for the 2008-09 season

The day after a painful defeat (4-1) away at champions Real Madrid, it was announced that Frank Rijkaard would be leaving the club at the end of la Liga 2007-08.

Laporta could hand the keys over to former captain Pep Guardiola.

The man is currently in Charge of the 2nd team FC Barcelona B. The second squad plays in the Spanish second division (Liga Adelante)

FC Barcelona line-up – Liga 2007-08

A great player in the making?

Leo Messi, only 20 years of age, had a fantastic season with the club. He was Barça’s 3rd goal scorer (tied with Bojan) with 10 goals. He lead the team in assitss (12), ranking 4th in la Liga 2007-08. He has long been promised to a very bright future. Could the 2008-09 season be the year of ‘La Pulga’ Messi? Only time will tell… But we think you should not miss out on a match at the Camp Nou

Top scorers for Barça in la Liga 2007-08

  • 16 goals: Eto’o
  • 12 goals: Henry
  • 10 goals: Bojan and Messi
  • 8 goals: Ronaldinho
  • 7 goals: Xavi
  • 3 goals: Iniesta and Giovani
  • 2 goals: Márquez and Gudjohnsen
  • 1 goal: Milito, Deco and Touré Yaya

La Liga 2007-08 classification

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Real Madrid (C)3827478436+4885
2Villarreal3824596340+2377
3Barcelona38191097643+3367
4Atlético Madrid38197126647+1964
5Sevilla38204147549+2664
6Racing Santander38179124241+160
7Mallorca38151496954+1559
8Almería381410144245−352
9Deportivo de La Coruña38157164647−152
10Valencia38156174862−1451
11Athletic Bilbao381311144043−350
12Espanyol38139164353−1048
13Betis381211154551−647
14Getafe381211154448−447
15Valladolid381112154257−1545
16Recreativo381111164060−2044
17Osasuna38127193744−743
18Zaragoza (R)381012165061−1142
19Murcia (R)3879223665−2930
20Levante (R)3875263375−4226