FC Barcelona’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, speaking at El Prat Airport before setting off for Donetsk, has said that the priority in the Champions League is to come top of the group.
Recent results have boosted Barça’s confidence no end. As Txiki said “all four wins were important. Team spirits are good, and tomorrow we have to carry on in the same direction.” Barça having got off to a winning start in the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon, he made it clear that: “we have to get a positive result, there’s no doubt about that. The aim is to finish top of the group and so tomorrow’s game is important.”

Players’ opinions

Txiki inevitably also had some words about Saturday’s incidents at Montjuïc, and a possible denunciation of the Barça players by Espanyol. “I think that after hearing what our captain Carles Puyol said yesterday, the logical thing would for this to lead to nothing. The players’ opinion, reflected in what Puyol said, is clear and he was more than convinced that Espanyol will not be making any kind of protest against our players.”

A great game

“All the incidents in the match, the firework throwing, the pitch invasion, and the bottle thrown at Juan Carlos Unzué have overshadowed what I think was a great game from us” he said, before revealing on optimistic outlook on what remains of the season. “The players are doing well, and doing that playing attractive football. The offensive statistics are unbeatable, but we have to remember that considering the many chances we have had, we haven’t scored that many goals, while our opponents are getting very few chances, but converting a much higher percentage. When you start balancing out these figures and our actual results, you see there is still a lot to be improved.”

 
Although the fact that the first team has won four games in a row indicates that things are on the right track, Pep Guardiola wants to put the past behind him, knowing that Shakhtar will be another big test.
Speaking in his press conference on the eve of the game with the Ukrainian club, the Barça manager has commented on how important it is to get a win to put them in a strong position in the group table. “We have another big test on Wednesday” he said. “And a huge opportunity to make a big step towards the second round. We have to remember that not winning in the Champions League can penalise you heavily.”

Prudence

The football first team has won on its last four outings. Once in the Champions League and three times in the domestic championship. But Guardiola is keeping clam and reminded listeners that, especially in the league “a few days ago we were in the relegation zone … it is better to be prudent. The past belongs to the past. We know where we are going and that we need to persist.”

Two key games

Guardiola was speaking about both the games Barça must face before the international break, and about how important both encounters are for their futures in both competitions. “Now we have to play two important matches before the break for different international commitments. The game on Wednesday is the priority for now, and is crucial in terms of qualification for the second round of the Champions League. The game on Saturday against Atlético Madrid is basic for getting closer to the top of the league.”

Maximum respect

The Barça manager was giving nothing away regarding the side he might put out on Wednesday evening and also commented on Shakhtar Donetsk’s strength going forward. “I have enormous respect for Shakhtar” he said. “They are a very attacking and daring side. We’ll have to be very careful, because it is always difficult at their ground. But we know how they play, I know their players well, they have a high level and we’ll be trying to do them damage.”

Goalscoring chances

The problem with Barça of late has been that despite creating loads of chances, they are struggling to covert them into goals. On this issue Guardiola said “getting goals is the most difficult bit … the most important thing is the good football and great team spirit we have. We have to persist in ensuring we do things well. With our strikers, we’ll manage it.”

 
The French international has said that he is working hard in training in order to be able to offer the optimum performance. He hopes we will see the very best of him on Wednesday night in Donetsk.
Éric Abidal, who may make his first appearance of the present Champions League group stage on Wednesday, was the player chosen to speak to the press in the Ukraine, following Pep Guardiola’s intervention. The left back spoke sincerely about the way the season has gone so far. “Last year I said the fitness training was different to what it had been like in France, but all that has changed this season” he said.

There has been much debate in the media as to what he might have to offer the team, Abidal himself admitting that “I am sure I am not at my best level, I don’t know why not, but I am working very hard in training and hope to be at one hundred per cent tomorrow.”

Getting on fine

Éric Abidal’s Spanish is getting better by the day, and he explained that he finds life with the Barça squad very different to what he was used to in France. One of the biggest differences is the relationship between team mates. He compared the team to “a family”, but did admit that aside from professional commitments, French teams do tend to spend more time socialising together. Nevertheless, he insisted that “it is not matter that affects my performances.”

A difficult opponent

After four wins in a row, the defender hopes to add another against Donetsk, before another important league clash. “The Champions League is a totally different competition. We won our first game and that was important because points are hard to get here, and it will also be a big test before we meet Atlético Madrid.” On Shakhtar, he said “I don’t know all the players, but they have been playing in the Champions League for several years. They have experienced footballers and it will be a very difficult game.”

 
Barça has only played away at Shakhtar Donetsk twice, and though it didn’t win either game the stadium still brings back pleasant memories for a variety of reasons.
Donetsk first helped to get Barça to the legendary Basle final and then made Messi internationally famous. In the 1978/79 season Barça took on Shakhtar in the first round of what was to become its Cup Winners’ Cup triumph in Basle. Twenty-six years Leo Messi made his European debut for Barça in Ukraine.

Messi’s Champions League debut

In just five days Leo Messi will have played at two grounds which marked key stages in his career. Saturday’s derby with Espanyol took place at the Estadi Lluís Companys, where he made his competitive first team debut for Barça on 16 October 2004. This Wednesday he is set to play at the Donetsk Olympic Stadium where he appeared in his first Champions League game for the Catalan outfit on 7 December in the same year.

In that match Frank Rijkaard used reserve and academy players for the last game in the CL group stages. Barça had already reached the last 16 and only an unlikely victory by Celtic over Milan could have made them first in the group.

Shakhtar won 2-0

Numerous injuries led Rijkaard to hold back players such as Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o. Verdú, Javito and Messi were all in the starting XI while Rodri played in the second half. Out of these four only Messi would continue in the first team. The Argentine played all 90 minutes but was unable to find the net and Barça went down 2-0, while Celtic and Milan played out a goalless draw in Glasgow. Milan went through as leader, Barça as runner-up.

First step towards Basle

Barça’s first game in Donetsk was the second leg of the first round of the 1978/79 Cup Winners’ Cup. The Catalans had won the first leg 3-0 meaning the tie was virtually in the bag. They took no chances in Donetsk and a one-all draw was enough to take them through to the last 16, their goal being scored by Austrian striker Hansi Krankl. It was the first step on the journey to Basle where Barça was to win its first Cup Winners’ Cup in the unforgettable final against Fortuna Düsseldorf.

 
On Saturday Barcelona achieved its fourth win in a row this season, something it hasn’t done since exactly a year ago.
Sporting Lisbon, Sporting Gijon, Betis and Espanyol have all been beaten by Josep Guardiola’s side in the last fortnight.

Six wins in a row a year ago

The last time Barça won four in a row was a year ago when their winning spree eventually came to six on the trot. That time Olympique Lyon (3-0), Seville (2-1), Zaragoza (4-1), Levante (1-4), Stuttgart (0-2) and Atlético de Madrid (3-0) were the defeated sides.

This Wednesday the fifth win might come against Shakhtar Donetsk in the second Champions League group stage game.

14 goals in four games

FC Barcelona has found the net 14 times in these four games, which is an average of more than three goals per match. It has also conceded five.

Last year the team scored 18 and conceded three in the six games won between 19 September and 7 October 2008.

 
Barça have announced the 19 players called up for their visit to Shakhtar Donetsk. They are same as the ones who played against Espanyol with the addition of Martín Cáceres.
Martín Cáceres is back in the squad announced by Pep Guardiola. Players left out are Sylvinho, Víctor Sánchez and Jorquera, who was given the green light by doctors this Monday, together with the injured Hleb and Milito.

Hleb is back in training

This Monday afternoon the team had its last training session in Barcelona before travelling to Donetsk. The session was held at Camp Nou, and Alexander Hleb made his first appearance since getting injured on 13 September against Racing. The Byelorussian did tempo running separately from his team-mates.

The other 22 players available trained as normal. At the start of the session, which was open to the media, the group divided up into three (keepers, starting XI from Montjuïc and substitutes) to do speed and strength work.

 
Albert Jorquera is ready to play again after nine months on the sidelines. Milito, who also suffered a serious knee injury, is back in Barcelona and has been examined by club doctors.
Albert Jorquera got the green light from club doctors this Monday afternoon after the training session held prior to leaving for Donetsk. The keeper snapped his right knee ligament last 29 December and after nine months out of action returned to training with the squad last Friday. He was given the all-clear by club doctors today.

Milito’s back

Gaby Milito has arrived in Barcelona and has been examined by club doctors and Doctor Ramon Cugat. The club says the defender’s recovery is going well and he will now start working at club facilities.

Milito’s right knee ligament injury was picked up on after last 29 April’s Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford. On 13 May he was operated on by Doctor Ramon Cugat, who forecast recovery time of between six and nine months.

Three-stage recovery

Milito’s recovery process is split into three stages. The first post-op one was monitored by Doctor Cugat’s team. The second has been taking place in Argentina since July under the supervision of the national side’s doctor, Homero de Agostino. The defender will begin the last stage in the next few days at the club’s facilities.

 
Carles Puyol has made it clear that Barcelona’s players have always been against violence. He added that they celebrated their goals as they always do, and hadn’t been thinking about the people who had been throwing flares.
“If anyone has always shown that they are against violence, that’s the players,” said Carles Puyol. He thus backed up what Joan Laporta said on Sunday evening in response to comments that called into question the attitude of Barça’s players. He also made it clear that at the end of the match the players were not waving to those who had thrown flares but rather to Barça fans, and that they had not dedicated their goals to the flare throwers.

Too many goals against

Having cleared up doubts about Saturday’s derby fixture, Carles Puyol also spoke about Wednesday’s game with Shakhtar Donetsk: “We’re really enthusiastic about the match and if we can get three points that’ll be a big step towards qualifying.” He also thinks the defence needs to improve as the team concedes a lot of goals compared with opposition chances created. “We have to try to ensure they don’t even create a half chance,” he said, “even though we can still get back into the game, as happened at Montjuïc.”

Right approach

Another feature of Barça at the start of this season is the number of chances they create, although not all end up as goals. Puyol thinks that’ll change sooner or later. “We’ve got the right approach and we would like to win with better score lines, but if you play well and create chances you end up winning,” he pointed out. “What’s important is the way we’re playing, our enthusiasm and the effort we’re putting into it.”

 
The faith and insistence of the Barça players led to the kind of comeback in injury time that has been the exception rather than the rule for the team in recent years.
Since the day he was unveiled as the new FC Barcelona manager, Josep Guardiola has always maintained that he cannot guarantee titles, but that he can promise that the fans will feel proud of the players and the commitment they display on the pitch. This attitude is starting to shine through in the form of points.

More shots than ever

Barça dominated the games against Numancia, Racing Santander and Wisla Krakow from start to finish, but in none of them did they shoot as often as they did at Montjuïc. Against Espanyol, Guardiola’s side made 31 attempts on goal, a season high. Until now the games that have seen the most Barça shots were against Numancia, with 27 and Sporting Lisbon, with 25.

“We are performing well”

After the game, Dani Alves told Barça TV that the win against Espanyol had been a reward for their persistence throughout the match. “I think we performed very well today. We kept our faith and hopes up until the end, and we have to do that in every game” said the beaming Brazilian.

First taste at Gamper

Barça have never been famous for last-minute wins, but with Guardiola on the bench, this is not the first time it has happened. At the Gamper 2008 Puyol equalised in the 92nd minute and Eto’o grabbed a late winner in the 95th. Although the deciding goal came a little earlier in the game, the one with Betis last week also showed how the right collective spirit can turn a game around, with Gudjohnsen scoring the winner in the 79th minute.

Last season

Last term, with Rijkaard on the bench, Xavi scored two epic goals. The first was in the 87th minute of the game with Osasuna at the Camp Nou, the only one of the game (1-0), and the second in the 94th minute of the cup semi final against Valencia was the one that sealed a draw (1-1).

 
In the Barcelona derby, Josep Guardiola fielded a starting line-up that featured seven locally produced players. It was the first time that many had been in the side since a game in 2007 against Villarreal.
The exact date October 20, 2007, the opposition was Villarreal, and the ground was El Madrigal. Frank Rijkaard fielded no fewer than seven players that had grown up at La Masia, a circumstance that was repeated last night against Espanyol.

Eleven months and seven days had passed since the last time Barça was represented by that many locally raised players.

Hometown derby

The game between Espanyol and Barça had a very local flavour, for Espanyol, with six members of their side being products of their own youth system, also had a strong Catalan presence in their squad too.

The locally produced players in the side Josep Guardiola sent out at Montjuïc were Valdés, Piqué, Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Iniesta, Messi and Xavi. Not only that, but Bojan came on for Sergio Busquets in the 65th minute, so a total of eight former Barça youth team players got their chance to shine in the derby.

The last time

It is not a common sight to have that many locals in the Barça line-up. The side that played against Villarreal back in 2007 included the following seven home-grown players: Valdés, Oleguer, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi y Bojan.

Despite losing 3-1, Bojan scored the only goal for Barça that day, becoming the clubs youngest ever league goalscorer.

 
Espanyol against Barça is one of the oldest derby games in European football having been played over the last 80 years and the games have thrown up some interesting facts.
Below are some facts and figures about the derby encounter:

-The overall balance of the 74 derby games in the league at Espanyol’s ground sees the Blanc i Blau with 25 wins, Barça with 25 wins and 24 draws.

-The biggest win for Espanyol came in 1950/51 when they triumphed 6-0, while Barcelona’s highest winning margin of 0-4 has been achieved on two occasions, in 1982/82 and 1991/92.

-Between 1929 and 1997, the away derby games between Espanyol and Barça took place in the hosts’ stadium in Sarrià. Since then the games have been on Montjuïc.

-Both clubs participated in the first league season in history in 1928/29. The first derby with Espanyol as hosts took place on June 16, 1929 on Montjuïc, because Sarrià was considered to be too small, and ended in a 1-1 draw. Juve scored for the home team before Sastre levelled for the visitors.

-Espanyol’s Gallart was the first player to score a hat-trick (1929).

-The two sides met in the cup final on Montjuïc in 1957. The game ended in a victory for FC Barcelona (1-0).

-In the 1977/78 campaign, the famous ‘Papi’ Anguera was shown a yellow card for running on to the pitch to give Johan Cruyff some shorts. The game ended 1-1.

-The meeting in 1980/81 saw Barça arrive late to the Sarrià stadium due to heavy snow. The game did eventually go ahead with Espanyol winning (1-0).

-Barça had to travel to the stadium Sarrià on two occasions in the 1986/87 season when the league was decided with a play-off.

-In 1996 the derby was suspended for eight minutes due to rain. The match that ended 1-1 proved to be Cruyff’s last as coach of Barça.

-When Barça visited Montjuïc in 1997/98 they applauded on to the pitch by Espanyol’s players for being the champions.

-The derby this weekend could be the last to take place in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys because Espanyol are set to move to their own purpose-built area in Cornellà-El Prat during the current campaign. The derbies have been played on Montjuïc since 1998.

-There have been eleven derbies played in Montjuïc and the record shows that Barça have won five times, there have been four draws and two wins for Espanyol.

-It is the first time since 2001/02 that both coaches are Catalan . Bartolomé Márquez and Pep Guardiola are the first local duo to take charge since Paco Flores and Carles Rexach.

-This derby will see plenty of homegrown players on both sides. Espanyol can count on Chica, Sergio Sánchez, Ángel, Coro, Jarque, Moisés, Tamudo, Soriano, Julián and Sielva. While Barça can boast the talents of Valdés, Puyol, Piqué, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Bojan and Messi.

 
Josep Guardiola considered that FC Barcelona “more than deserved” to win the derby at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Montjuïc on Saturday evening.
The Blaugrana coach congratulated his players, especially for their “performance” throughout the 90 minutes, and considered that his team and Espanyol had both contributed to a “very good derby game” in terms of the quality of play. “I want to congratulate my players and Espanyol as well,” he said. “They started very well and came out and that surprised me.”

Pleased with the first half

Continuing with his analysis of the game, Guardiola felt that his team had played very well throughout the first half: “The team has played an extraordinary first half , despite the fact that we still lack the instinct we need in front of goal. In the second half, with ten men, Espanyol played further up field. In the end, we had the luck that had been missing throughout the rest of the game.”

The team gaining a good dynamic

On the offensive substitutions that he made at the start of the second half, Guardiola explained that “I would not have put them on if Espanyol had still had eleven players”. The Blaugrana coach reiterated that he felt that the team’s performance had meant that they “more than deserved” the victory and went on to say that he believes that team is little-by-little gaining “a good dynamic”. “We have earned out third consecutive victory in the league, which is not easy. Now we have to continue,” he added.

“Lamentable” incidents

Finally, Guardiola did not want to weigh up the referee’s performance and stated that he viewed the incidents in the stands as “lamentable” after flares were thrown and meant that the game had to be stopped for a few minutes. “It is stupid and I hope that these things will never happen again. We are the first to denounce these types of incidents,” he explained.

 
The FC Barcelona players felt that the victory that they obtained in the Estadi Lluís Companys was achieved because they played like “a team”, according to Gerard Piqué.
After the derby encounter, the Blaugrana players showed that they were proud of the win against Espanyol and the manner I which it was achieved after they came from a goal behind and showed real character. That was a key, according to the squad.

Víctor Valdés:

“Barça deserved to win at all times”.

“It was a game in which we had a lot of chances and in the dressing room we were all very pleased”.

“For the first goal they fouled me and the referee did not whistle”.

“We had to come back and, luckily, we were able to do that”.

Bojan Krkic:

“There are days when you score and others when it just will not go in”.

Xavi Hernàndez:

“If they are throwing flares then I do not think anyone can identify with it. We hope it does not happen again”.

Gerard Piqué:

“We are totally against violence. Anything that is not about football should not happen and in this case it has”.

“This win was possible because we are a squad and showed we are a team”.

Thierry Henry:

“We have played very well from the start. It is most important that we won. Our attitude was really important too”.

Dani Alves:

“We eventually won the prize that we were playing for”.

“These games are different. You have to go out to win. We have managed to win while having to work very hard”.

“Our persistence has allowed us to win the game”.

“Football is passionate and it can go too far. We should not speak about these things because it gives it importance to something that does not belong in football”.

Eidur Gudjohnsen:

“At last I have won my first derby with a strong character in the team”.

“We did not let our heads drop despite suffering like we did”.

“These are three points that have been won with a lot pride and are very important”.

 
The inclusion of Pedro in place of Martín Cáceres is the only change in the Barça squad for visit to Espanyol on Saturday from the one that faced Betis.
Pedro is one of two recent youth team products to be named in the 18-man squad, along with Sergio Busquets. Coach Pep Guardiola has opted to rest Cáceres, Sylvinho and Víctor Sánchez for the game, while Albert Jorquera, Aliaksandr Hleb and Gaby Milito are still out of action.

Jorquera returns

Training began with a round of applause for Albert Jorquera on Friday in a behind-closed-doors session in Camp Nou. The goalkeeper received the adulation from his team-mates after returning to full training following nine months on the sidelines with a knee injury. Including the Catalan custodian, Busquets and Víctor Sánchez, 22 players took part in the session.

Derby day schedule

The itinerary for Saturday sees the squad having to report to Camp Nou at 11am. They will spend an hour training ahead of the derby against Espanyol and they will then have lunch at 13:30 in Camp Nou. The players will be free until 20:00, when they have to meet, once again, at Camp Nou before travelling at 20:30 to the Estadi Olímpic on Montjuïc for the match.

 
Josep Guardiola believes that it is not by accident that Espanyol are flying high as he looked forward to an intense derby against a side that is defensively strong.
The coach also recognised that there will be more than just three points at stake as everyone in Catalunya will be watching.

The amount of interest in the encounter means that it will not just be another league match for Barça or Espanyol when the two teams take to the pitch on Saturday evening in the Estadio Lluis Companys on Montjuïc and Guardiola is looking forward to it. “It is a match for everyone to enjoy,” he stated. “The two presidents have been measured in their comments. Now the whole city and everyone outside will be looking on. I have always liked derbies and it was always a special thrill to play in them, especially in their previous stadium in Sarriá where there was a great atmosphere. Also, in Camp Nou, where we almost always won.”

Espanyol are very well organised

During the press conference on Friday afternoon, Guardiola looked at the strong points of Espanyol and the good start that they have made to the new season. “They are a team that is well organised in defence and they play a direct game going forward,” he explained. “Their midfielders do not participate much in the game but they do help with the second balls. They are a team that allow the opposition very few chances and, for that reason, they are very difficult to beat.”

Tamudo and Luis García

Espanyol’s club captain, Raúl Tamudo, is back in the squad and will play alongside Luis García in attack. Guardiola believes that the duo must be watched. “We have to be very careful with those two,” he stated. “Tamudo has scored a lot of goals for Espanyol and Luis García is one of the best forwards in Spanish football. They have a lot of mobility and they are very direct when going forward.”

Improve in attack and defence

Guardiola then explained that he is happy with the way that his team have been playing, in particular in their last outing in midweek against Real Betis. But the coach is still conscience for the need to improve certain areas, with the drop in intensity on occasion in matches one of those to be looked into. “Sometimes we have problems controlling games and at the start of the second half we have trouble switching back on,” he said. “That is a problem with the mentality and is also a tactical thing that I have talked to the players about and that we are looking to deal with. We also have to be more effective when presented with chances in front of goal as well as improving in defence. Despite that, I do not think that there are no teams that create as many chances as we do or maintain the same intensity for 90 minutes.”

 
The coaches of FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol, Pep Guardiola and Bartolomé Márquez, met on Friday on the pitch in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
While the derby continues to stir the passions, the two trainers met ahead of the encounter to pose for photographs in front of the assembled media on Montjuïc. Guardiola and Márquez did the traditional handshake and posed with their club’s respective shirts for the newspapers.

Then the duo walked back down the tunnel together towards the changing rooms and then on to the press room where the journalists were waiting for them. During the brief photo shoot, both coaches were full of smiles, but said nothing.

Two Catalan coaches

For the first time since the 2001/02 campaign, both coaches are Catalan. Guardiola and Márquez are the first local pair since Carles Rexach and Paco Flores were on opposite benches. In the last two seasons Frank Rijkaard and Ernesto Valverde were in charge of the respective teams.

 
Barça have produced the very best of their attacking football in recent games. In three matches, they have been on target no fewer than twelve times.
Despite creating plenty of goalscoring opportunities, Barça started the league finding it difficult to put their chances away. They reencountered their goalscoring touch in the Champions League against Sporting Lisbon, and continued that form in their third and fourth league outings. In total, the games with Sporting Lisbon, Sporting Gijón and Betis produced 12 Barça goals, one every 22.5 minutes, and an average of four a match. It has been such devastating form in front of goal that has been decisive in three consecutive wins.

Evenly spread

The authors of said goals have been many and varied. Samuel Eto'o leads the way with four (one from the penalty spot). Then come Leo Messi and a midfielder, Xavi Hernández, with two each. The others have come from Márquez, an own goals from Sporting’s Jorge, Iniesta and Gudjohnsen.

Messi and Xavi top in assists

With his two passes to Eto'o against Betis, Leo Messi is Barça’s leader in assists in this season’s league. He also laid on a goal for Iniesta to make it 4-1 at El Molinón, making a total of three. That is a tally he shares with Xavi, who has taken two corners that have ended up in the net, as well as a cross for Messi to score the sixth and final goal for Barça in Gijón.

Third highest scorer

Barça, with ten goals to date, are the third highest scoring side in the championship behind just Real Madrid (14) and Atlético Madrid (11), although there are still four games to be played in the fourth round of matches. In the Champions League, only Chelsea, who beat Bordeaux 4-0, have scored more than the three Barcelona scored against Sporting.

 
With Josep Guardiola and Bartolomé Márquez on the respective benches, both sides will have Catalan managers when Barça go to Espanyol. The last time that happened was when Carles Rexach and Paco Flores coincided in the 2000/2001 season.
The 2000/2001 season was the last time there were Catalans in charge of both sides for an FC Barcelona v Espanyol derby. The last two Catalans to appear together in the traditional photograph of friendship before the game were Carles Rexach of Barça and Paco Flores of Espanyol.

Respective records

Barça and Espanyol met in three league matches under that particular duo. The first encounter was in the 2000/2001 season and ended 0-0. They played twice the season after. At Montjuïc, Barça lost 2-0, and at the Camp Nou they got their revenge by winning by the same scoreline, 2-0, against Espanyol.

Four former players

The four past and present managers of FC Barcelona and Espanyol, all spent time as players for the teams they are now in charge of. Carles Rexach played the most, appearing in no fewer than fifteen campaigjns for FC Barcelona.

Josep Guardiola made his debut for Barça in 1991 and saw out a decade before departing in the 2000/01 season.

The Espanyol bosses

As for the men that managed the ‘Parakeets’, Paco Flores played 65 games for Espanyol in the seventies and the following decade, Bartolomé Marquez enjoyed nine seasons on the club’s books.

 
The Cameroonian believes that the goal he scored in the Champions League final was the most special of the 100 he has scored for Barça. And despite his individual performances, he believes it is what the team achieves as a whole that really matters.
Satisfied with making it to a century of goals against Betis, Samuel Eto’o was the star of the midday press conference at the Camp Nou. Proud of his achievement, he said “that means I have played a lot of games for this club. I hope I don’t just score 100 .” Asked which goal was the most important, he didn’t have to stop and think for a second. “The equaliser in the game in Paris, because it brought us back into the game and we ended up winning it. That was very important.”

Top concentration

But his 100th goal came in a game in which Barça suffered more than they probably should have in the second half. Eto’o describes affairs thus: “We played very well in the first half. I don’t why our performance dropped in the second, perhaps we thought the job had been done, but we have to keep going until the referee blows the final whistle.” But he didn’t think the Betis comeback was the result of Barça failing to live up to their duties. “He who has played least has played seventy games in the first division. We have to remember that the opposition are playing too.”

The same old Eto’o

The striker claimed to be feeling as fit as ever, but did point out that “I can’t take off 2 or 3 years, I am the Eto’o of the present. I am just as enthusiastic as ever.” Asked about being substituted against Betis, he praised the group spirit “I am a player like anyone else, I wasn’t surprised. It’s no problem, the coach does what’s best, and the three changes led to the third goal.”

Still learning

One of Pep Guardiola’s main elements of strategy is putting pressure on the opposition, and Samuel Eto’o, as the centre forward, is one of the players who carries the greatest responsibility in that department. “I’m happy” he said. “Not just because of the pressure, but because I’m learning things. We are working very well tactically and I hope to keep improving.” On the subject of the goals Barça conceded, he explained that “the defence involves the whole team, starting with me. We are letting in a lot of goals and we have to get better. We are working on correcting that.”

And now Espanyol

Next up for Barça is Saturday’s derby. “I see it as being difficult, like any game before it starts. It is a game like any other, I hope we win and that it is a great occasion … I have only ever scored once against Kameni. He is on great form, but if we want to win, we have to beat him.”

 
Wednesday night marks the 25th anniversary of the day when Goikoetxea made his infamous tackle on Diego Armando Maradona. That night, as Julio Alberto remembers, the Argentinian’s ankle “went crack!” and the team’s hopes took a frightful knock.
It was a Saturday, the 24th of September 1983 to be precise, the night of the Mercè Festival in Barcelona. Barça were entertaining Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou. In the 13th minute of the second half, Goikoetxea hurtled in on Maradona’s lower leg.

César Luis Menotti was manager of the side back then, and looking back on the events said “I had the two great soloists of the time, Schuster and Maradona. So, my job was just to get the orchestra playing in tune. I knew that as long as the orchestra got the tune right, the soloists would appear. But I would sadly miss them for many, many games, especially Diego”.

Champions in town

It was the fourth game of the 1983/84 season. Barça were the defending cup champions, and Athletic Bilbao had won the league. Menotti considers “that Bilbao team had some really good players but they played football right on the limits.” The Camp Nou was witnessing one the of biggest occasions in football at the time, and the home side was producing all the best play.

The 13th minute

The mood changed in the 13th minute of the second half. Julio Alberto, playing that night, remembers it well. “Goiko’s tackle on Diego was in his own half, a completely unnecessary one, from behind, which was not even an automatic sending off in those days.” Goikoetxea was raging after an earlier tackle by Schuster, but what he did completely destroyed Maradona’s ankle. “I head the yell and his ankle went crack. We immediately knew how serious an injury it was. They had just broken the best player in the world”.

Early morning operation

Doctor González Adrio was Barça’s therapist in those days, and had dealt with all of the players at some time. “He was injured at about seven or eight in the evening and by two o’clock that night they were still deciding whether to operate or not. I got calls from Italy, France and Argentina and eventually had to make a drastic decision. They either operated there and then or I wanted to know no more of the affair.”

González Adrio presented his verdict of the events and Goikoetxea was suspended for eighteen games. It would be four months before the Argentinian could play football again.

 
Samuel Eto'o has now scored one hundred goals in a Barça shirt. His two tonight against Betis took him to that tally in what is his fifth season with the club.
Eto'o struck twice against Betis, and that takes his total for the club to 100. These have come in just 154 games, in other words, a mighty 0.65 goals per outing.

Eto'o became the fastest person ever to reach 50 goals for Barça when he made it in just 67 games.

81 in the League

The Cameroonian has played 112 league matches for Barça, scoring an impressive 81 times. His other goals have been shared as follows: 15 in Europe, 2 in the Copa del Rey and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup.

Goal 100

His 100th goal was the work of a classic centre forward. Eto'o struck home practically unchallenged after latching onto the end of a through ball from Messi. The Argentinian had just completed a dazzling run, and having read the move to perfection Eto’o was expertly positioned to tap the ball home.

But his 99th goal, in contrast, was all about strength and accuracy. Eto'o drove home a powerful right-footed shot that struck the bar before landing in the net defended by Betis keeper Casto.

Click here to look back at Samuel Eto'o’s player history.

 
Guardiola has said that wins like the one against Betis are more important than those by a wide margin, like the one on Sunday in Gijón. He believes it is games like this that will teach his players not to relax ahead of future challenges.
Guardiola was delighted by the way team reacted after Betis pulled back from 2-0 down. “The team changed things around when it became 2-2 and unlike against Racing, when they also equalised against us, Betis didn’t close us down and we managed to react well”.

From 2-0 to 2-2… why?

Asked how Betis had been allowed to come back from 2-0 down, Guardiola was clear in his words. “There was a drop in the tension after the break” he said. “That is when you have to quickly reconnect to the game, something we did not do. We let things go a bit and failed to find our rhythm. In the second half, we also suffered physically as a result of the number of games we have behind us.”

Decisive changes

Asked about the substitutions, he said Busquets and Gudjohnsen went on in the 70th minute because “we were losing our presence in midfield … I wanted to create more rhythm. Also Touré was on a yellow and I was scared of ending up with ten men.”

Bojan went on six minutes later. Guardiola said that was because “I know how much Bojan enjoys this stadium and he can generate a good atmosphere on the pitch.” Speaking more generally, the manager added that “changes are made because you think they’ll work. Sometimes you get it right and other times you blow it.”

 
Bojan reckons that hard-earned wins like these are the ones that leave you feeling best. But the players also recognised that they made key errors in the second half.
After getting the three points against Betis, the Barça squad was satisfied with the result, but also realised that they should never have allowed Betis to get back into the game.

Bojan Krkic:

“We already knew that we couldn’t take it easy. We knew that from our experiences last year at their ground”.

“They attacked twice and scored two goals. We didn’t have much time to react but we are happy with the win”.

“We were shaken because we had not expected that but in the end we managed to get the win.”

“Every time I go onto the pitch I try to make the most of the time I am given and do the best I can for the team”.

“These are the kind of wins that leave the best taste in your mouth, because you had to work hard for them.”

Xavi Hernàndez:

“We didn’t pay the right kind of attention and we suffered too much when we had the game totally under our control”.

“It was a very complete first half but then we let in the first goal and weren’t careful enough about protecting a favourable scoreline”.

“We enjoyed ourselves in the first half but in the second we suffered a lot. And we can’t allow that to happen”.

Eidur Gudjohnsen:

“For the goal, I arrived at the far post and my eye was only on the goal”.

“I can help the team and give a lot. I wear the shirt with pride and have always said that I never throw in the towel”.

“I have always kept working, that’s all I can do in difficult times. It annoys me that people doubt my qualities”.

“My goal was important but the win was a team effort.”

Touré Yaya:

“It was a bit hard for us. In the first half we played well but the second was a bit more difficult because they put us under a lot of pressure”.

“This league won’t be easy”.

“I am lacking a bit of rhythm and am training 100 per cent to be able to play to the maximum when I have to”.

Víctor Valdés:

“It was a nice game for seeing good football and ended with a very good result”.

“The most important thing was the three points and the way the game went makes those points all the more valuable”.

Dani Alves:

“We achieved our aim, which was to win the match”.

“You have to suffer to achieve big things. And if we achieve them, then any suffering is welcome”.

Martín Cáceres:

“We played a very good first half, but we weren’t concentrating enough in the second”.

“We always score goals but what we need to do is stop letting so many in, and do better in the defensive department”.

“I threw myself on the ground and touched the ball. It wasn’t a penalty”.

“I’m feeling really keen; I’m trying to things well”.

 
The French striker, who missed the Sporting match with a sore throat, is the only change to the Barça side for the midweek game with Betis, coming in for Pedro.
The 18-strong squad list for Wednesday evening’s clash with Betis is almost identical to that named for the trip to Sporting Gijón, the sole change being Thierry Henry coming in as a replacement for Pedro. The former Arsenal player missed the previous match after going down with a sore throat, but has since recovered.

Apart from Pedro, the other players that will not be meeting the Andalusians are Sylvinho and Víctor Sánchez, who have been dropped, and the injured Hleb, Milito and Jorquera.

Training in Camp Nou

Before announcing the list on Tuesday morning, the team trained in the Camp Nou. Pep Guardiola had his full squad available, as well as Sergio Busquets, the reserve team regular who has once again been handed a first team opportunity.

 
Since the Spanish League began, FC Barcelona and Betis have played 45 games in the Catalan capital, and these games have produced a remarkable 161 goals, an average of 3.5 a match – and most of them have been scored in the Betis net.
The two clubs met for the first time in 1933, with Barça winning 4-1. The following years also saw Barça collect two more relatively simple home wins, the games ending 5-1 and 4-0.

Seven 4-1 wins

No fewer than seven of Barça’s 34 wins over the Andalusians have been by the score of 4-1. Their biggest margin of victory came in 1960 when their visitors were routed 6-0, and they also hit Betis for six two years later, in 1962, when it all ended 6-1 to FCB.

Only four losses

Barça’s record is astounding against Betis, for in their 45 meetings, their guests from Seville have only been able to claim four wins, and none since 1997/98, when it all ended 1-3. And that game was purely academic, for Louis van Gaal’s side had already clinched the league title. In the last ten years, Betis have managed to get away with two draws, but have not won on any of their trips to the Camp Nou.

The last draw between the sides, in the 2004/05 season, came in the year of Frank Rijkaard’s first championship winning campaign – a spectacular clash that ended 3-3.

Overall record

Globally, Barça have won 34 league games at home to Betis, have drawn seven and lost just four. Overall, the Catalans have bagged 124 goals in those matches, and only conceded 37.

 
The first team squad has decided today on the team captains, who will be, in order of preference, Puyol, Xavi, Valdés and Iniesta. Curiously, all four of these choices are players that came up through the Barça youth system.
Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Victor Valdés and Andrés Iniesta are the four Barça captains, as revealed today by Pep Guardiola at a press conference: “Carles Puyol has told me that they now know who the captains will be. Truth is, there were a lot of players that wanted to lend a hand. I have stayed out of the matter, because I am just happy that everybody wanted to get involved and that they are able to sort out any problems between themselves, should they arise”.

Home-bred leadership

All four of the nominees came up through the club’s own youth system, something which is becoming a common factor at the club since Puyol was made third-choice captain in the 2003/04 season. He deputised under Luis Enrique and Cocu, eventually becoming the first choice after those two players left, when his own deputies were named as Xavi and Ronaldinho. Now that the Brazilian has left for Milan, Valdés and Iniesta have been made the third and fourth choice captains, making for a full house of locally produced talent wearing the captain’s armband.

Valdés has past experience

Although this was his first official nomination, Victor Valdés has donned the captain’s armband before. That was on January 31, 2008, in the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarter final between FC Barcelona and Villarreal (1-0). Valdés took over from Carles Puyol when the latter went off with a 45th minute injury. Ronaldinho was not in the squad, and the third choice, Xavi, was on the bench – although when he did come on in the 67th minute, the midfielder took over from the goalkeeper as captain.

The first time he actually started a game as captain was at home to Osasuna on February 3, 2008. Puyol was still out through injury, and neither Ronaldinho nor Xavi were in the starting eleven.

Zubizarreta, keeper and captain

Victor Valdés is not the first goalkeeper to captain Barça. In 1988/89, Andoni Zubizarreta took over in the role from Víctor, and remained in the position for the following five years, when it was eventually passed on to Bakero in the 1993/94 season.

 
Barça boss Josep Guardiola was happy with the way the team played against Gijon, but has warned that “we did get some things wrong, and I’ll be reminding the players of that before the game tomorrow”.
The FC Barcelona manager does not want his team to let the praise go to their heads and start thinking they can relax. “We will see against Betis whether we can be ambitious again or whether we are all a bit stunned by all the praise we have received. We’ll see how things go”, said Guardiola.

No six-goal treat in store

He also knows what the winning formula is, namely “repeating what we did well on Gijón. The transition between attack and defence worked well and we only lost our shape a little after their goal. But the fans have to realise that we won’t be scoring six more goals tomorrow”.

As for playing positions, Guardiola was didactic with his words, saying “we have to be well positioned in attack and prepare ourselves to deal with any counter attacks by the opposition. We have to work to get the transition between attack and defence working right”.

World’s best player in a winning team

Guardiola added that he considers his full squad to be potential members of his team. Specifically speaking about Andrés Iniesta he said “for a player of such a high calibre to be so willing to play wherever he is asked sets an example for all footballers and sportspeople”.

He feels Iniesta can play either in midfield or in attack, but “the players that tip the balance need to be hovering around the area. The nearer they are the better”.

Some pundits are even saying Iniesta is the best player in the world right now, to which Guardiola responded that “if anybody deserves to be, it’s him, there no doubt about that. But it is impossible to win individual honours if your team doesn’t win. I have to remind my players about that from time to time”.

 
Alexander Hleb has pledged his support for the International Police Association, which will donate an ambulance for use by the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in Minsk, his Belarusian city of birth.
On Tuesday at midday, Barça’s Belarusian star, Alexander Hleb, took a break from his recovery from an ankle injury to do his bit for charity. The Catalan delegation of the International Police Association (IPA), in collaboration with Bomberos Humanitarios (an organisation that takes humanitarian aid to Belarus) met up with Hleb on the Camp Nou grounds to tell him about the project they are undertaking in his home city.

The initiative involves taking an ambulance to the Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in Minsk, which looks after 125 children. Hleb spoke for several minutes with the project organisers, showing sincere interest in everything they are doing.

Important to help

After posing for photographs with the organisers and the ambulance, Hleb said “this initiative is fantastic. I have every respect for the people who have done this. It is very important for our country. There are a lot of children who need help.”

Hleb has worked with similar initiatives in the past, and his wife works for an organisation that helps children and the elderly in need.

 
Sunday was a very good day for Barça coach Guardiola. Not only did he achieve his first League win as manager, but it was also the first time he’d ever ended up on the winning side at Gijon’s El Molinón stadium as he’d never won there as a player.
This weekend in Asturias rounded off an excellent week for Josep Guardiola in which his side achieved two wins – the first a 3-1 triumph against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League – and scored nine goals while conceding two.

First League win

In addition to these team successes, Guardiola also reached two individual milestones at El Molinón. First and foremost was his first League win as Barça manager as his side thrashed a pretty abject Sporting Gijon by six goals to one .

And first at El Molinón

This first League win came at a ground which had not been kind to Guardiola as a player. He played there four times and never won: his record reads two draws in the 1992/93 and 1996/97 seasons, and two defeats in 1993/94 and 1994/95 when he was also sent off in the latter fixture.

So Sunday’s win brought Guardiola two birds with one stone: first League win as manager and first victory as player or manager at El Molinón.

 
This week’s training for the football first team is set to revolve around its League clashes with Betis on Wednesday and Espanyol on Saturday.
There will be no let up for Pep Guardiola’s players over the next few days. Barça has two League fixtures coming up this week and the manager has scheduled training for every day including matchdays.

First come Betis

After the resounding win over Sporting Gijon yesterday (1-6) the Barça players were back training this Monday at noon behind closed doors at La Masia. There they began gearing up for their fourth League match of the season, which will be against Betís this coming Wednesday at Camp Nou. There will be more training tomorrow Tuesday at 10.30 am and on Wednesday at 11 am. Both of these latter sessions will also be held at La Masia.

Three sessions before Espanyol clash

On Thursday, thoughts will turn to the side’s next match which is to be against Espanyol next Saturday at 10 pm. The players will have three training sessions before the derby encounter: on Thursday in the Miniestadi at 10.30 am; on Friday at the same time and in the same place; and finally on matchday at Camp Nou at 11.30 am.

 
Four out ten goals coming from headers show that Barça are getting the most out of their set-piece game. The team has seven strikes from three League encounters and that makes them second in the goal scoring list.
Sunday’s third League fixture brought a handsome win, three points and some pretty impressive facts and figures.

Three set-piece goals

Barcelona may have had a poor record on converting set-pieces into goals last season, but that’s changed this campaign. Four out of the team’s eight goals in the League and Champions League have been headers that came out of set-pieces. In Sunday’s 6-1 win over Sporting Gijon, for example, Xavi, Eto'o and Messi all headed home after moves that began with a corner. Moreover, Barça’s third strike at El Molinón was an own-goal when Jorge accidentally headed the ball into his own net at the near post from a corner.

Fourth in the Champions League

The fourth header this season resulted from a set-piece in Barça’s CL debut against Sporting Lisbon (3-1) when Rafa Márquez headed in a Xavi corner to make it 1-0 to the Catalans.

Six goals in 90 minutes

Barcelona always look to score and the final result at Molinón showed just what can happen. However, scoring six goals in one game is not easy. Barça did it in the 1992/93 season when Johann Cruyff’s side visited Zaragoza on matchday 11 and blew away the Romadera outfit with a brace of goals each for Koeman, Begiristain and Stoichkov. The most recent hammerings were 0-6 against Atlético de Madrid in the 2006/2007 season and a 6-0 result against Valencia last term.

Messi is top goalscorer

The thrashing of Sporting Gijon leaves Barça joint second with Real Madrid in the most goals scored table after three games: each has seven. Only Atlético de Madrid, with nine from three, is above them. Plus Messi’s two strikes in Gijon put him level with Negredo and Sinama with three goals at the top of the goalscorers’ table.

 
The day after his debut for Barcelona in a competitive match, Martín Cáceres says that the squad works hard on dead ball moves in training.
Barça has scored four goals from corners in its last two games – one against Sporting Lisbon and three against Sporting Gijon – and the Uruguayan says that a lot of work is done on set-pieces in training. “The boss is really good at that,” he said. “We do a lot of set-piece work in training and I hope it goes on that way.”

Competition debut

Cáceres hadn’t appeared for Barça since August 7. He played a lot in the first five preseason games but then was left out until the club’s third League fixture.

In the 81st minute of the Sporting Gijon game he came on as a substitute for Sergio Busquets to make his debut in a competitive match for Barcelona. The 21-year-old centre back said he was confident before the game but didn’t know for sure if he would get a run-out.

“The veteran guys want to win things”

“This squad knows what’s what,” said Cáceres, who joined Barça this summer. “The veteran guys want to win things and they’re helping us to do that.”

 
Sporting Gijon return to the Primera Division without any major changes to their squad or way of playing. Their primary objective against Barça is to win their first points of the season.
Promotion to the Primera Division ten years after a painful relegation hasn’t altered the plans of Sporting, who remain loyal to the long term project initiated in 2006/07. With Manolo Preciado on the bench, the Asturian club has returned to the path of success. One fact says it all: up to thirty players from the Mareo contributed to last season’s promotion.

No change in philosophy

Going on what we have seen so far, the only thing that has changed for Gijon is the division. They have retained the same squad that won promotion – only signing five new players – and play with the same fighting spirit that saw them promoted in an almost agonising manner. Their tactics haven’t changed either: Sporting still use a 4-2-3-1 formation with a good passing game.

Zero points from two games

The opening games of the fixture list have been very demanding for the red-and-whites. In the opening five games the have to face Getafe, Seville, Barça, Madrid and Villarreal. So far, hey have lost to Getafe (1-2) and Seville (4-3) in two games in which we were witness to the virtues of Preciado, enthusiasm and simplicity, and also their main handicap, namely their inexperience.

The majority of their players are making their debuts in the Primera Division and so this will be their first time playing against Barça. It’s only the third game but sporting will want to win their first points of the season against Barça. To do so, they can count on the incredible support of their loyal fans.

 
FC Barcelona’s first team carried out their final training session before tonight’s game in the football academy in Mareo where they met up with some old friends.
A little before 11.00 this morning, the team coach pulled up at the football academy in Mareo for the final training session before tonight’s game. There, the players met up with two historic figures from Barca´s and Asturian football’s past, namely Enrique Castro ‘Quini’ and Abelardo Fernandez. Both are currently employed with Sporting Gijon, the former as a representative of the first team and the latter as manager of Sporting B.

The youngest too

Apart from this meeting of past greats, there was also Hugo Lopez awaiting the arrival of the Barça players. Currently with Sporting B, Lopez played his junior football with the azulgranas and played alongside Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Bojan. The four met up again this morning to talk about old times.

Training

Training took place this morning on the same pitch where Abelardo Fernandez’s Sporting B side beat Sestao 2-0 on Saturday. It was a light session of only half an hour and was primarily an opportunity for the players to stretch their legs and do a bit of ball work.

 
The Barça players were very happy with the win, the goals and the manner in which they played at El Molinon.
Victor Valdes voiced the feelings in the Barça dressing room after the game against Sporting Gijon: “We’re very happy; it was a great game to watch and we needed the three points”. According to him, “it was imperative to start well against a Sporting team that comes out running”. The goalkeeper, who explained that the knee problems he was having in the second half were “only a scare”, was unable to keep a clean sheet but he is clear that: “Keeping a clean sheet when you score five or six is not important”.

The other stars of the day were of a similar opinion.

Sergio Busquets

“I’m here to help the team in whatever way I can. When things are going well and you’re in the first team you gain a lot of confidence.”

“I felt comfortable but Sporting play the counter attack very well and you have to concentrate when we lose the ball.”

Leo Messi

“Luckily, things went well for us. We came here to play a good came and it worked out for us.”

“We know we have to be patient and that with our game the goals will come.”

“We’re aware of the talent we have in our dressing room and we believe in what we are capable of achieving.”

“The stadium and the fans of Sporting are incredible and they are an example to follow for all Spanish football fans.”

Rafa Marquez

“In dead ball situations we attack the ball and this brings results.”

“Despite conceding a goal, it was important to get a result like this.”

Samuel Eto'o

“We’ve been playing well but the ball just wasn’t going in. Today almost everything went in.”

“There was never a doubt about the team’s ability to score goals. I’ve alays said that Barça don’t have a problem in attack.”

“The supporters were amazing. This is a real football stadium.”

Xavi

“We needed a win and it was well deserved.”

Dani Alves

”It’s the way to go on, with the team working hard and on form in attack.”

“We have to get three from three and we hadn’t won for two games. It’s a very important win.”

 
Uruguayan Martin Caceres made his official debut for Barça in Gijon and it proved a dream debut. Barça won 1-6 and the team scored twice in the ten minutes in which the defender was on the pitch.
Minute 82. Play is stopped and the fourth official holds up his electronic board with the number ‘2’ of Martin Caceres, who comes on to replace Sergio Busquets. It’s the Uruguayan’s official debut as an azulgrana.

10 minutes at centre-half

His involvement was short – 10 minutes – but it was enough for him to celebrate the two final goals by Messi. The Uruguayan played at the heart of the defence in partnership with his captain, Carles Puyol. Rafa Marquez, who had been playing in this position, vacated the spot and moved up to play in the defensive midfield position.

In his ten minutes, Caceres was involved in seven moves and completed seven passes. The South American can always say that he did nothing wrong on his Barça debut.

 
After thrashing Sporting Gijon 1-6, Guardiola singled out the “effort and solidarity” of his players. “What I will take from the game is the effort we put in right up to the end, and we all gave our all. This is the way we must continue”, he said.
Guardiola reminded everyone that at the official presentation of the squad, all the players promised to make the maximum effort in every game. In this sense, he can consider that, the result apart, the most important thing is “the fact that I see a team that makes the effort and plays as a unit”.

Accuracy is key

For the Barça manager, the game on Sunday wasn’t too different from those played so far. The main difference was accuracy in front of goal: “To be honest, this game was very similar to those we’ve already played. Today we were better in front of goal and for that reason we have won three valuable points”.

A daring opponent

With respect to Barça’s opponents, Sporting Gijon, Guardiola only had words of raise: “Sporting is a team to watch out for in the league. It’s a team which I have good feelings about. They have a coach who’s not afraid to take chances with his tactics and that’s something you have to admire”.

“I have a very good squad”

Once again, Guardiola reiterated his belief that he has “a very good squad”. With specific regard to the performance of Sergio Busquets, the manager said that he feels very happy with him and singled out the “strong personality” of the player.

 
The French striker has not recovered from his bout of pharyngitis in time for Sunday’s game in El Molinon. Abidal and Sergio Busquets, however, have returned to the squad.
The squad of eighteen players for the visit to Sporting Gijon has ben released and missing are Henry, who hasn’t recovered from his pharyngitis yet, Hleb, Milito and Jorquera who are injured, and Sylvinho and Victor Sanchez, who haven’t been called up for technical reasons.

Training session in the Nou Camp

The squad trained this Saturday morning in the Nou Camp with Henry returning after having missed the double session on Friday due to pharyngitis. The French striker trained alone while on the other hand, Rafa Marquez, who has also overcome a bout of pharyngitis, was able to train without any problems

The only player missing from the training session was Victor Sanchez, who was called up by Luis Enrique for Barça Atletic’s game against Atletic Balears (18.00 Barça TV).

 
Satisfied with how his team is playing, Pep Guardiola has assured everyone that there is no nervous tension about winning despite the fact that “a win is the most important thing and it’s essential to keep that in mind”.
Pep Guardiola was speaking at a press conference following his team’s final training session before leaving Barcelona for Asturias. The azulgrana manager admitted that “despite there being some aspects in which we need to be more convincing, like, for example, pressure in attack”, we need to “continue with the style of play” played so far.

No pressure

The azulgrana manager said that “the team doesn’t feel under pressure or nervous” but he recognises that “despite playing well, it’s logical that the team need to start winning soon”. According to Guardiola, and despite the formation and tactics for the upcoming game being generally “the same” as in previous games, “a win is the most important thing we need to keep in mind”.

Return to El Molinon

Barça face newly promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday and can expect a very different game from the one played in Soria against Numancia: “It will be totally different. Sporting is a more open, dynamic team which creates more danger in attack and so opens things up more for their opponents”.

Goals scored and conceded

A lack of goals by the team is not something which worries Guardiola and he is convinced that they will come: “It’s a question of mentality. The players we have are more than capable of scoring, and I don’t think it’s something which should only be analyzed with certain players in mind.” On the other hand are goals conceded. Barça have conceded a goal in each of their last four games. This, however, doesn’t worry Guardiola as “our opponents don’t get forward too often and don’t create too much danger”. Nevertheless, he recognises that “we must stop them scoring when they do create these chances”.

Bojan’s involvement

The Barça manager explained that there shouldn’t be any debates or discussions surrounding the number of minutes played by Bojan Krkic and he assured everyone that he was dealing with “an excellent player who can help the team a lot”. On this topic Guardiola did say that “every player wants to play in every minute of every game but only eleven can play”.

 
The Barça returned to training on Friday with the weekend fixture against Sporting on their minds. Valdés trained for the first time since going down with a sore throat, but Henry and Márquez, with the same medical problem, are still unwell.
The first team trained inside the Camp Nou in the first of the day’s training sessions. This was after a day off on Thursday, which had been used to attend a promotional event organised by one of the official club sponsors , Audi.

Home and away

For the morning session, Josep Guardiola had first choice keeper Víctor Valdés back after recovering from a sore throat, but Thierry Henri and Rafa Márquez are still not ready to play after suffering the same problem.

Márquez, who missed the trip to the Circuito de Catalunya as a precautionary measure, and Henry, who had to leave Montmeló early, have stayed at home with medication, the hope being that they will be well enough to take part in the evening session.

 
Xavi Hernández feels the team is ready to begin a long winning streak at El Molinón. On a personal level, he would be happy to keep up his good form in the first games of the season.
One of the big names in the FC Barcelona squad, Xavi Hernández, spoke to the press on Friday about the latest events at the club. He said the team is “ready to win” after defeating Sporting Lisbon in their opening Champions League encounter (3-1), and the next challenge is to get their League campaign back on track with a win at El Molinón.

“We’d like to be in a more comfortable position, but we’d be under pressure even if we were leaders” he said. Against Sporting Gijón, “we have to try to correct our errors and start winning in the League”.

Positive competition

Xavi does not think the team has lost any of its spark after losing some key players over the summer. He believes “there are good enough players in the squad to make up for the absences of the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco. We have other important footballers and we can’t lay the blame on the players that have gone.”

The Catalan went on to reiterate that “the boss has made it clear from day one that he has his faith in every member of the squad and that is an added motivation. Everyone has to be alert and ready.”

On top form

Named the best player in the European Championship, and after ten years in the first team, Xavi looked back on “good and bad moments” in his career. But “now I feel tremendously confident of the coaching staff and my colleagues and that helps to perform better. I have been really pleased with my own performances and I hope things stay that way.” Xavi got another goal on Tuesday but said “group achievements are more important than individual ones.”

Messi and Bojan

He also commented on the way things are going for Leo Messi and Bojan Krkic. He considers the Argentinian to be “the best player in the world … he has to be selfish in the area because that way he can make a difference … we are delighted to have him with us and that he is an individualist, always in the good sense of the word.”

As for Bojan, he said “I think he’s fine, comfortable, settled and prepared. He’s got natural talent, but it is the manager who decides how much he plays. But he clearly has every faith in him.”

 
Luis Enrique does not think Barça will have it all their own way against Sporting Gijón. The Barça Atlètic coach played for both Barça and Sporting and told about his mixed feelings ahead of Sunday’s game.
Luis Enrique Martínez will be eyeing this Sunday’s match between Sporting Gijón and Barça at El Molinón with special interest, it being a clash between the two clubs he holds closest to his heart. And he predicts a tricky match for the Catalans against a Sporting side that may not have got off to the best of starts in the championship, with two defeats out of two, but that will present Guardiola’s side with a lot to think about at El Molinón: “They are a very tough team and they will put up a strong fight in front of their own fans. They play a very attack-minded game, but are very disciplined about it and are physically strong. Barça won’t have it easy”.

Back in the top flight

Sporting are back in the first division after a decade in the lower leagues. Luis Enrique is thrilled to have his countrymen back in the top tier, saying “it means a lot on a football level. People are very keen for the team to do well in the top flight. It is a major impulse for the team, and the city too, to once again be playing games against teams like Barça and other top class sides, and for Sporting to once again feel what it is like to be in the first division.”

Looking to stay up

Sporting have no greater ambitions this season than merely avoiding the drop. Luis Enrique feels even doing that might be difficult: “I think they’re going to suffer. I’d love them to be able to stay up easily, but I am sure they won’t because finance matters a lot, and Sporting just isn’t the kind of club that can strengthen its squad with expensive signings.”

Such difficulties are certainly showing so far, as the Asturians have yet to register any points, but Luis Enrique doesn’t think there is any cause for alarm quite yet: “Sporting have to remember that the start of the season against powerful teams of such a high level is not what the reality is always about. They will also have league meetings with other teams struggling against relegation.”

 
In an interview with Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat, FC Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has revealed what he believes to be the key to success: You have to enjoy what you are doing, that way, each morning, you feel like you really want to train.
After playing 400 official matches for FC Barcelona, captain Carles Puyol gave an interview looking back at his career at the club, and revealed his secret for maintaining the same level required to meet such high demands on a day to day basis. “You need to enjoy what you are doing. Like in any job, you have to enjoy being a footballer and every day you need to want to go and train. Then you need luck and not to get injured, but the most important thing is to be enthusiastic. You have to understand that it is a privilege to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world”.

Best memory, the Champions League

On October 2, it will be 9 years since Puyol made his first team debut, and his fondest memory was winning the Champions League in Paris. “It was one those moments you can’t put into words, you have to experience it” he said. “But at the time a lot of it doesn’t sink in. I felt the thrill much later, when I saw the game again on DVD, because it all happens so fast when you are there.”

“I’ll always be a Barça man”

Carles Puyol is one of eleven players in the squad that came up through the youth ranks, and for that reason he think he feels the club colours more than most. “I sincerely believe that the local players feel the colours more, but that’s only normal. If I was to go away, I’d play out of my skin for that team, which is what we want the players that come here to do, but I will always be a Barça man”.

Important win

After failing to win either of their first league encounters, the win over Sporting Lisbon was important for team morale. “That was a very important win” he said. “After two years without titles and not as good a start as we had hoped for, we needed a result like that. Now we need three or four wins in a row, to put together some good results and to end up winning titles”.

Goal drought no concern

Against Sporting Clube de Portugal, Barça scored three times to end a run of three games in which only one goal went in. Puyol is not too bothered about the lack of goals. “People speak about a lot of things” he said. “But it would be a lot more worrying if we weren’t creating chances. We have top quality players and the goals will come.”

Adaptation of newcomers

There are five new players at FC Barcelona this season, all which Puyol reckons were top class signings. He believes “we have to give the new players time to adapt. Barça is a very big club and it is not east to play in the Camp Nou. For the time being they are adapting well to the squad and the city.”

Broadcast on Barça TV

This interview with Carles Puyol will be broadcast in full on Barça TV on Friday at 16.30, at 20.00 and at 22.45.

 
Ex Barça man, Abelardo Fernández, spoke to www.fcbarcelona.cat about Sunday’s game in Gijón, when Guardiola’s side faces Sporting, and about his experiences as reserve team coach for the Asturian club.
Abelardo was sincere and said that on Sunday he will be hoping for a Sporting Gijón win, which would be the first of their current league campaign. But he said that the ideal situation this season would be for Barça to win the championship and for Sporting to ensure another season of top flight football.

What does it mean for Gijón and the Principality of Asturias the have Sporting back in the first division after a ten year absence?

“Something very big on every level. We have to remember that last year the average attendance at El Molinón was nearly 24,000 a game, more than a lot of first division clubs. Almost every week Sporting played away, we took around one thousand fans. Being promoted was good for everyone. For Asturian football, for trade in the area.”

What kind of Sporting Gijón will FC Barcelona meet on Sunday?

“The same old team. On that looks to play attacking football, that likes to take the initiative and that plays the ball around well. Manolo Preciado respects all those ideas. We are also trying to more physical and cause problems for teams that way.”

What aims does the club have this season?

“After ten years in the second division it would be too much to hope we can qualify for the UEFA or anything like that. We have to keep our feet on the ground and staying up is our only objective. The players, coaches, fans, local press and Administrative Council all have to stay patient and have a strong mentality. We have some very hard early fixtures, but results aside, the dynamics are good. I can safely say that neither against Getafe nor Sevilla did Sporting deserve to lose. If you were to ask me about relegation, I’d say there are ten or eleven teams that could be in a similar kind of situation by the end of the championship. So I’m just hoping we can stay up and play top flight football again next season.”

What do they think about Barça and Pep Guardiola in Asturias?

“They see an attractive project. Barça play a lot of good football. They keep the ball moving and that’s always nice for people who love football. And against Numancia and Racing they were much the better side, but football has these things. If they carry on like that, things will start working out and the wins will start coming one after the other.”

Will your heart be divided on Sunday?

“Sorry, but it won’t be. I want Sporting to win. I’m sincere. I’m Asturian, I’m a Sporting man, it’s always been my club and Sporting will need these three points at the end of the season. But I am sure Barça will have more points than they need and will end up winning the league. That would be my ideal situation, for Barça to be league champions and for Sporting to have no problems with the drop. I’d sign for that right now.”

How’s it going as coach of the reserves?

“Very well. It is a huge challenge for all of us involved in the Sporting youth set-up. The results haven’t been coming so far. We have lost two games and drawn one, but I have a very young team. The oldest is 21 years old, and we have lost points at the end of matches due to that inexperience. But we have to be patient and look at things in the long run, and not lose heart after two or three bad results. I could say the same thing about my friend Guardiola and Barça.”

 
On their rest day, the FC Barcelona players attended to a commitment they had with one of the club sponsors, Audi. At midday the official cars for the 08-09 season were presented to the players.
There was training today for Josep Guardiola and his side and therefore the first team players made their way to the racing rack to attend an event organised by club sponsor Audi.

For the third season in a row, the official cars were presented on an unusual day for the footballers, but a great chance for them to all enjoy a day out together.

Driving lessons and vehicle presentation

At half past one, the players arrived at the circuit, where they had lunch together before enjoying a short driving lesson and then after taking a series of tests with the Audi drivers, the German company presented them with the new Q7 models.

Rafa Márquez and Víctor Valdés, with sore throats, and the injured Alexander Hleb and Milito, did not go to Montmeló.

Institutional representation

President Joan Laporta, accompanied by vice president for sport, Rafael Yuste, and directors Albert Perrín and Jordi Torrent were at the presentation along with the Audi directors. Laporta recognised that Barça, like the brand of cars, aims to lead its field. “We have similar objectives (in reference to Audi and Barça) of being first, being the best in order to gain success and glory”, he said.

 
Puyol, Bojan, Iniesta and Piqué attended the inauguration of the new Nike offices in Barcelona as ambassadors for the brand. Piqué said that the win the Champions League “will do us good for making the jump we needed”.
On Thursday, Nike, one of FC Barcelona’s sponsors, officially opened its new offices in Barcelona, located in the Parque de Negocios Mas Blau, and the inauguration was attended by four Barça players in Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Bojan Krkic and Gerard Piqué, in addition to president Joan Laporta and vice president Jaume Ferrer. Basketball’s Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernández, and swimmer Mireia Belmonte were other sportspeople at the event.

“The Champions League win will do us good”

At one point, Gerard Piqué spoke to the media about the importance of winning their first European group match against Sporting Lisbon: “the win will do us good because it will help us make the jump back to winning ways, especially ahead of the game with Sporting at Gijón in El Molinón, and winning in the League like we have to”.

No room for debate

The centre back added that “there should be no debates concerning Bojan’s situation” as the striker “is working hard every day to win his place and to get more time on the pitch … it is the boss who has to pick the players that are on form or the most appropriate for each match”. He also said he feels comfortable with the defensive tactics being employed as “they allow an extra man to go up and join the attack”.

 
FC Barcelona won their first game in the Champions League for the ninth consecutive time when they beat Sporting Clube on Tuesday evening in Camp Nou.
Pep Guardiola's side did not break with tradition as they beat the Portuguese outfit thanks to goals from Rafa Márquez, Samuel Eto'o and Xavi Hernández to record their ninth consecutive opening day win in the competition proper. Sporting were beaten and followed in the footsteps of AIK Solna, Leeds United, Fenerbahçe, Club Brugge, Celtic, Werder Bremen, Levski Sofia and Olympique Lyonnais, all of whom have lost to Barça in the first game.

Four impressive wins

In the nine wins, Barça have enjoyed a goal spree on four occasions. The first time came against Leeds United in 2000/01 when the Blaugrana hit four with Patrick Kluivert scoring a brace and Rivaldo and Frank de Boer added one apiece.

The following season Kluivert, Patrick Andersson and Javier Saviola all netted to give the Blauagrana a three-goal win against Fenerbahçe.

Frank Rijkaard's side did even better in 2006/07 when Andrés, Ludovic Giuly, Carles Puyol, Eto'o and Ronaldinho all scored as Levski Sofia were beaten 5-0.

Last season, Lionel Messi and Lionel Messi ensured that Olmypique Lyonnais were soundly beaten on the opening day of the Champions League.

Three close games

AIK Solna were the first team to be beaten in the run of victories as they went down 1-2 thanks to goals from Abelardo and Dani in the first game of the 1999/2000 Champions League campaign.

Against Club Brugge, in 2002/03, the Blaugrana had a slightly more exciting time of things as they only won 3-2 with Luis Enrique, Gaizka Mendieta and Saviola all scoring.

In 2005/06 Barcelona travelled to Germany to play Werder Bremen and Deco and Ronaldinho netted to give them a 0-2 triumph.

Celtic triumph

The 3-1 win on Tuesday against Sporting was the same scoreline by which Barcelona beat Celtic in the first game in 2004/05 when Deco, Giuly and Henrik Larsson all scored.

 
Rafael Márquez admitted that he was pleased to have scored against Sporting Clube on Tuesday, but admitted that the team winning was the most important for him.
The Mexican international headed home the Blaugrana's first goal in the 3-1 win against the Portuguese visitors. "Right now, it was vital for us to win," he told reporters after training on Wednesday morning. "We needed three points and to play well. It does not matter how we played as much as the fact that we won. Sporting only broke through our defence on two occasions and overall I thought we did well at the back."

Winning ambition

Barça's second official win of the new campaign could be crucial, Márquez believes: "We put pressure on ourselves and we are conscious that a win was our only aim," he said. "At the moment we are not concerned with how many fans come along and watch because we know that when we are at our best everyone will want to come and see the team again."

Set pieces

Reflecting on his goal against Sporting, the defender continued: "We practiced that move on Tuesday morning. Now we work on the details more and not just have a set number of moves for free-kicks and corners, there are more variations, above all going forward. But I know that we need to improve more at set pieces when we are defeating."

Equal opportunities

Pep Guardiola's team selection process was put to Márquez and he thinks that everyone has a chance of playing. "The job of the coach is to value everyone equally and he shows that day-by-day, as much in training as in the dressing room. We all feel important and feel that we have a chance. Everyone has a great relationship whether they be players or coaching staff."

Creating chances

Márquez then stated that he believes that Barça have been harshly criticised. "I think it is strong, especially if you compare the amount of chance we are creating in comparison to the number of chances that teams create against us. This can create distrust. If we create 20 chances and have trouble scoring then everyone suffers. Against Sporting we began to change the situation that came about after the games in Krakow and Soria and against Racing."

 
This is the third competitive game between Barça and Sporting Clube. In the previous two, the Catalans knocked the Portuguese out of the UEFA Cup.
- It was the second round of the UEFA Cup in the 1986/87 season and Barça went through on the away goals rule. The Catalans won 1-0 at Camp Nou only to go down 2-1 in the second leg. A late goal by Robert Fernández put Barça through.

- Years later Barça and Sporting went head-to-head in the 1999 edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy (3-1). Figo, Dani and Dehu scored for the home team and Ayew for the visitors.

- Whenever FC Barcelona have reached the final of the European Cup they have always played a Portuguese team on the way. In 1961, 1992 and 2006 that team was Benfica and in 1986 and 1994, Porto.

- Barça coach Pep Guardiola is trying to become the sixth man to win Europe’s top competition as both player and coach. The five who have already done so are Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trappattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Rijkaard.

- Sporting Clube’s manager, Paulo Bento, played for Oviedo from 1996 to 2000. He has been manager since 2005.

- Barça reached the group stage after seeing off Wisla Krakow in the qualifying rounds, while Sporting classified directly after finishing as runners-up in the Portuguese league.

- Xavi Hernández was the only player to play in all the Champions League games while Leo Messi was second top scorer.

- This is the third time in a row that Sporting Clube have played in the group stages and their fifth in total, but they have yet to make it to the knockout rounds.

- Like Barça, Sporting has lots of sports sections which at one stage came to 22.

- The Portuguese club’s slogan is ‘esforço, dedicaçao, devoçao e gloria’, or effort, dedication, devotion and glory. Its symbol is a lion which appears on its badge.

 
After appearing for FC Barcelona against Sporting Clube, Carles Puyol has now played in 400 games for the Barça first team.
Carles Puyol’s appearance against Sporting Clube was his 400th for Barça. Now captain of the side, he made his debut on October 2, 1999, under Louis Van Gaal against Valladolid in the sixth game of the 1999/2000 season. Carles Puyol stepped onto the Nuevo Zorrilla turf as replacement for Simao, and enjoyed 35 minutes on the field that day.

400 games in nine years

Almost nine years have passed since then, and his 400 appearances have come in seven different competitions, every one that FC Barcelona have played in over that time. The breakdown is as follows: 273 in the League, 30 in the Copa del Rey, 81 in the Champions League, 9 in the UEFA Cup, 4 in the Spanish Super Cup, 1 in the European Super Cup and 2 in the World Clubs Cup.

Six goals from the back

Although he is a defender, Carles Puyol does join the attack for certain plays. Even so, it took him until the 2001/2002 season to score his first goal, against Valladolid at the Camp Nou, the second of the four goals scored that day by a Barça team managed by Carles Rexach. He has scored another five since then, three in the League and two in the Champions League.

Captain’s armband

Carles Puyol first donned the captain’s armband on October 26, 2002 in the seventh game of the league season against Alavés. Luis Enrique, the first-choice captain back then, handed the armband to Cocu when he was substituted, and when the Dutchman also went off, third choice Carles Puyol got his first chance to lead the side.

On July 28, 2004, with Luis Enrique and Cocu gone, Carles Puyol was officially named the official team captain, a role he first undertook in an official encounter against Racing in the opening game of the 2004/2005 League season.

5 titles in 400 games

Over those nine years and 400 games, Carles Puyol has picked up plenty of honours. His five main titles were two Spanish Leagues, one Champions League and two Spanish Super Cups.