Barca Buzz: New Years' Surprises

Happy New Year, Barcelistas! We hope that 2009 brings good luck, health, and success to all, and especially to our beloved FC Barcelona. It looks like the second half of this season is going to be a spectacular one for us, and the surprises have already begun.

As it turns out, darling Eto'o has missed Barca so much that he flew in from Cameroon three days early and joined the rest of his buddies in training! The level of devotion and commitment from the players has really been stepped up from last season, and this new attitude of love-for-the-club is really appealing to our senses. It gets better: Keita followed Samu's example and returned early as well—and if that weren't enough, Leo has expressed his readiness to play against Mallorca even if he doesn't come back more than a day before the game.

However, there's also a bit of sad news: The long wait for Gaby Milito gets even longer, as medics have confirmed that he won't be able to play before April at the very least. Its just too bad that he can't be back earlier because we've been missing him for ever so long; but we hope that the long wait will bring him complete recovery and that he'll return better than ever.

Gossip on the Guys: Bye-Bye Monique

Barcelistas, do any of you happen to be Rijkaard lovers? Yesterday, Frankie and his wife, Monique, anounced that they would be parting ways after 19 years of marriage. Apparently this is a decision "based on mutual respect for one another", a line we're really starting to get bored of. Can't these divorced gents think of something better every once in a while? Would it be so hard for Frankie to admit that Monique doesn't want him now that he's failed? Although personally we think she should be thanking her lucky stars to have got him; but then, some people are just never satisfied.

We also probably ought to mention that Frank and Monique have a daughter and son together. Hence the annoying possibility of a long, boring custody battle.

La Liga: Barcelona vs RCD Mallorca, Camp Nou, Saturday, January 3, 20:00 CET

Now back to the Liga: the first match of the new year and the test to see if Barca can keep their form after a week off. Okay, that was a joke. We're nothing less than sure that the boys will be able to glide through this one.
Of course, we must take into consideration that Leo, Eto'o, Caceras, Dani, and Keita will be unavailable; however, the way we see it, that just means that Bojan and Pedro among others might be playing, especially given Pep's claim that 2009 will see more rotation.
We're particulary excited about Bojan, since we've been missing him; Eto'o not playing means a substitute center forward is needed, and the possibility of Bojan stepping in is high given his outstanding performance with Catalunya last night during the side's friendly against Columbia. Bojan set up one goal and scored the other to lead his team to a 2-1 victory, proving just how much he has to offer when given the chance.

Injury Report: Waiting for Gaby

As it turns out, Gabriel Milito's return, after being out with injury since April, is still uncertain. The latest is that he should be ready by February, however, nothing is definite yet. Is this like the longest injury absence ever? Although lovely Pique has the centreback position well covered, we still miss golden-haired Gabriel and can't wait to see him back in action. Our prayers are with you, Gaby darling.

Barca Buzz: Back to Work

Vacation's over for all but six of our boys. Messi, Eto'o, Caceras, Keita, Milito and Alves all have two extra days to make up for the time taken travelling overseas, and are due back January second. With the exception of Yaya Toure, who was struck with pharyngitis, the rest of the team reported for training today. The next couple of days will involve intensive pre-match training for the meet against Mallorca on Saturday—which means that there won't be much of a New Year's celebration for any of the boys; not for the ones currently in Barcelona, because of their training schedule, nor for the six still on vacation, as they will most probably be traveling at that time.

Also, chances of seeing anyone of the six late players against Mallorca are very slim, seeing as they only arrive back one day before (besides the fact that Milto still hasn't been cleared to play). No worries though, Barca should be fine without them.

Transfer Talk: Next on the List

After completing the contract renewals of both Xavi and Busquets, the Barca board will now move on to the next few players: Victor Valdes, Rafael Marquez, Samuel Eto'o, and Carles Puyol. All four of them have contracts that expire in June of 2010; and so, starting with Valdes, new contracts will be made up for them all.

Apparently there are some complicatons with the negotiations for Victor Valdes so far; while Victor's father and agent both have agreed to the general details proposed by the club, the two sides still haven't been able to agree on, of course, the question of the keeper's salary. Barca acknowledges that a raise is in order, however, the price asked is still too steep for their liking. Reportedly though, this is nothing major and a common ground will be reached in time. We sure hope so—keeping Victor is an important factor in the balance of hottness on the club.

As for Rafa and Puyol, the two have assured the club of their desire to stay with Barca till the end of their respective footballing careers. That, at least, is something to be thankful for.

Then there's the issue of Samuel Eto'o. For some strange reason, Samu has stated that he doesn't want to begin any renewal transactions until the coming summer, as he does not outrule a transfer. What we would like to know is, what's up with that? What, is he not satisfied on Barca? Does he not like being top scorer, main striker, second-highest paid player? You make us laugh, Samu. Truly, this is the joke of the century. Barca is where you belong, love, and Barca is where you'll stay.
Elsewhere: In relation to the coming transfer window, Pep and Txiki are reported to meet next week to dicuss Barca's squad for 2009-2010. The main points of focus are signing players for three distinct positions:
-A goalkeeper, to create some competition for Valdes as well as for backup, considering the possible departure of Jorquera.
-A left back, becuase the club is in need of one with Sylvinho nearing retirement and Abidal's future with the club uncertain.
-A left winger (the spectacular David Silva being a big possibility!) as niether Henry nor Iniesta are naturally wingers, Henry being more of a central forward and Iniesta more at home in midfield.
We think that looking into these transfers is a wonderful thing; although Barca's perfect right now and are playing wonderfully already, Pep is looking ahead at what the club will need later on. He has foresight, a term Frank Rijkaard would not understand—just as Pep wouldn't understand old Frankie's belief that a winning squad is everlasting.

Random: Pizza, Comics, Dani's new look

Daniel Alves is to become the new face of Hugo Boss.

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Barca Prez Joan Laporta is a huge fan of the comic "Tintin".

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Good news for Barca's technical secretary Txiki, his ill brother's condition has been improving.

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Spanish pizza company "Telepizza" sold more pizzas in one night than ever before—two and a half million pizzas—on the night of El Classico! They're hoping that business is as good when Barca and Real meet again on the Bernabeu.

Transfer Talk: Arsenal wants Yaya

Barcelistas, you all know Cesc Fabregas, the Barca traitor but hottie never-the-less. You've also probably heard about his recent injury, as a result of which he will out for four months. Not that any of this would hold any weight with us, if not for the fact that Arsenel's coach, Arsene Wenger, is now looking to sign our Yaya Toure to make up for the absence of the Spanish midfeilder.

Now, this is wrong on many levels. Firstly, we don't approve of the common practice of signing players to replace injured ones. Now just imagine how this makes Cescy feel—and how would Yaya feel knowing that he's only wanted as a replacement? And just what is supposed to happen to Yaya once Cesc is all better? Its simply wrong.

Secondly, Yaya is most clearly a basic part of Barcelona's squad. What makes Wenger think we would sell him, just like that? And the funniest part is how much he's offering: 8 million pounds! In the world of football today, that's next to nothing. For anyone who rates our pillar of midfield strength at only that, a transfer is not even open to negotiation.

Also, after Barca have repeatedly said that they don't wish to make any changes to their squad during this coming transfer period, its a bit annoying that other clubs can't get that through their heads.

Post-Match Buzz: Pique's Red Card Recalled!

Our gents on the Barca board clearly agree with us that Gerard Pique's sending off was unjust, as they appealed to the Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on the matter and the second yellow card was subsequently recalled.

Now we can go to the holidays happy with the thought that he'll be available for the next match, and hopeful that the starting lineup will include him and Marquez both...

Barca Buzz: Pep's Plan for the New Year

As 2008 comes to an end, Barcelona remain at the top of the Liga with a comfortable lead over all their contenders. However, with the new year comes a busy schedule for the club: over the next few months the team will be playing an average of two matches a week, as competition resumes for the Champions League and Copa del Rey as well as the Liga. But our always devoted Pep never rests: ever wary of the coming challenges, he’s developed a surefire tactical plan for 2009. Apart from outlining just how Barca will be running this coming year, the arrangements also reveal a lot of hidden sides of Pep’s character.
Firstly, Pep is truly an empathetic and caring individual. He doesn’t want a single member of the squad to feel left out (that includes you, Caceras dear) and plans to give everyone their share of game-time via intensified rotations. This means that we’ll be seeing lesser of such players as Messi, Eto'o, and Dani (awww…) but more of the likes of Bojan, Sanchez and Pedro (yaaay!). This method will continue until March, by which time Pep will have developed a set XI in time for Champions League finals.
Secondly, Pep is considerate of female fans like us. He knows that the gents will return from holidays a tad overweight, and will focus on burning off the extra calories directly when training resumes after the break. That will stretch over a few days, the most vital of which will be December 30th (players are all due back on the 29th), when the players will have a double training session with much physicality in order to regain strength and endurance. Once that is achieved, the trainings will then come to involve less physicality than before, to avoid extra strain considering the tight match schedule, as well as to maintain the players’ physical form, something that will hopefully keep them off the injured list.
Thirdly, Pep knows that form is not enough and that the boys must also keep a winning mentality. That’s why he’s planning a lot of heart-to-heart talks with the players to build concentration and mental strength, and keep them focused on the team’s priorities. Also, he’ll be leaving his office door open to any player who wants to come in and have a little chat.
Pep never rests. While his players are off on vacation, here he is setting plans for the team, attending charity matches, and studying the competition (he’s booked tickets to see Arsenal-Aston Villa in the EPL, as he believe the gunners are a dangerous UCL contender). They should create a most devoted coach ever award just for him.

The Weekly Pick: Bojan Krkic Perez

Because we miss him.

Blue-eyed Bo hasn't graced the pitch in a while and that's a cause for distress; hopefully Pep's plans for 2009 will include more of him.

Gossip on the Guys: Christmas Vacation

Happy Holidays, Barcelistas! Christmas is on the gates and our lads are scattered across the globe for their well-deserved breaks:

Messi, after attending a promotional event in Uzbekistan, is now with his family in Rosario, Argentina. Daniel Alves traveled to Bahia, Brazil, while Caceras headed back home to Uruguay. Accompanied by a friend, Eric Abidal returned to his family in Lyon, and Samuel Eto'o will be spending his vacation between Douala and Kribi while Andres Iniesta will be in Fuentealbilla. Sylvinho has opted to stay in Barcelona instead of returning to his home country Brazil, while Gerard Piqué, Bojan Krkic, Carles Puyol and Sergio Busquets will be remaining for the traditional Catalunya Christmas friendly (the match is to be against Columbia and will take place on Camp Nou). However, they might get the chance to travel after all; Bojan for instance has raised the possibility of spending a few days in Andorra. Xavi Hernandez won't be participating in the friendly, instead taking the vacation as a chance for rest in order to return in top form. Thierry Henry, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Alexander Hleb will be doing likewise.

Match Report: A Goal for Peace?

Chaos better decribes last night's match. After all the talk about stars of the world taking part in the "Goal for Peace" charity match against Iraq, we were looking forward to seeing this one—imagine, a select few of our gents on a team alongside such hotties as Kaka and Pato, among others—we ought to have known it was too good to be true.

It seems there were some slight complications with the event arrangements: in addition to the players who never recieved their tickets, the date and time mix-ups, and the non-existent hotel reservations, the kit for the World Stars wasn't ready and the medical insurance was apparently forgotten.

After around an hour's delay, the twelve veteran players who constituted the World Stars were dressed in another team's kit for the match, which ended up being the only event of the night in lieu of the extensive program that was previously planned.

While some were tearing their hair out, our man Pep seemed amused by the whole affair. He and Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti spent the entire time chatting and laughing together, undoubtedly over the ridiculousness of their situation.

As for the match itself, it was so monotonous that even the referee got bored and ended it at eighty minutes—not that anyone seemed to care. The score in the end was World Stars 2-1 Iraq.

We're not that disappointed though—after all, the cameras spent a lot of time focused on Pep and we spent a happy nin—er, eighty minutes drooling over the world's hottest coach.

Pre-Match Buzz: Iraq Vs Peace Ambassadors

Tonight several of Barcelona's stars will participate in a friendly match, on a side composed of various world stars against the Iraqi national team. Aside from the charity benefits, apparently the match is supposed to "Unite soccer fans that belong to traditional soccer rivalries such as Inter and Milan, Manchester United and Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona".
Yeah, as if Barca fans and Madrid fans could ever be united. But we'll tolerate the merengues for the sake of the match.
Also, as this is a friendly, any roughness is completely unacceptable. If our gents come back injured, somebody has to pay.

Transfer Talk: Busquets' Contract Renewed

Who ever believed Sergio wanted to leave Barca? Certainly not us. Which is why we're thrilled that he's officially renewed with the club. The contract was signed today and runs till 2013, and includes a buyout clause of 80 million euros—not bad for a newbie.

Injury Report: The Boys are Back

We're feeling very excited about the return of some of our dear lads to the team following injury absences.

First and foremost is the curly-haired Gabriel Milito, who we've been missing ever since last season. Gaby has been training with the team for a while now, and should be match-ready by January!

Second on the list is Andres Iniesta. Andresito has been away for six weeks now, and we've been missing him terribly. But now he's cleared to play and we'll be seeing him on the pitch as soon as the next match. Xavi+Iniesta= almost too much chemistry to handle!

The third and final gent is of course our love Marquez. After resting up a bit he's ready to return, and ease our ache for Pique with those melting eyes of his...

Match Report: Villareal 1-2 Barcelona

Its not a very flashy score, but we're still proud of our boys. Keita has officially earned the tag goal-scorer-in-decisive-moments, while Xavi has proven once again that he is the King of assists. Titi lost a lovely chance, but then made up for it with a lovely goal, so we forgive him. Busquets was impressive as always, definitely one to watch. Elsewhere, we're sad we didn't see too much of Leo (are the new boots to blame?)

But now to the alarming issue of Gerard Pique's red card. We think it was one of the most unjustly given cards Barca has ever seen, and are starting to doubt the soundness of the referee's eyesight. Especially after he let one Villareal player get away with a leg-locking-mouth-clamping-head-yanking foul on our man Xavi. We'll be missing Tall Pique in the next Liga match, but thankfully Rafa will be back by then so there won't be any shortage of great hair on the pitch.

One thing that worries us: Barca seemed to be attacking a little bit less and defending a little bit more than usual. Can it be that the boys are getting a bit comfy with their lead? Just to be clear, we think Barcelona have got every right to be lording over the other lesser teams, because frankly, this season we're unmatchable. However, the journey still isn't over, and Pep and the guys can't be kicking their heels up just yet. As long as we are in competition, we need effort! vigor! sweat!

... and a drink right about now, along with a couple of tranquilizers.

Gossip on the Guys: Messi's new boots.

Yup, Leo's got himself a new pair of boots now. He'll be wearing them for the first time against Villareal this weekend: The "Tunit F50 Leo Messi" boots, which will exclusively be worn by him, are silver-blue and have his signature silk-screen printed on the side and the Argentine flag, the number ten and the name 'Leo' embroidered on the tongue.
That's all fine and dandy, but lets hope Leo's play is upped as well as his footy look.

Injury Report: Without Rafa

Earlier this week three of our gents missed training due to physique-related problemas: The curly haired Puyol because of some dental issues (brush your teeth, Carles dear), Yaya Toure after suffering a migraine, and our man Marquez due to overburdening of the hamstrings in his left thigh.
The good part: Yaya and Carles are all better now and have returned to training as usual.
The sad part: We will be missing Rafa against Villareal as he still hasn’t been able to resume normal training, instead doing individual exercises to recuperate.
Now, we’ve dealt with enough hamstring problems with Leo last season, thank you very much. We don’t think we’ll be able to handle lord-knows-how-many weeks of Rafa-less-ness if this turns out to be serious. Get well soon, love!

The Weekly Pick: Samuel Eto'o

For not giving a damn about unjust yellow-card-as-a-result-of-shirt-removal rules. Kudos to Messi for following his example.

Transfer Talk: Xavi's Contract Finalized

The Xavster is officially signed up for five more years of Barca! That's right, our favorite sleepy-eyed-spiky-haired-goal-assisting-attacking mid has signed his new contract today, after the event had been postponed due to Txiki's being in Japan to visit his sick bro. Some yummy details of the contract:
- It runs till 2014
- Xavi's new salary is around 7.5 million euros +incentives, making him earn around as much as Henry now with only Messi and Eto'o making more.
- The buy-out clause is 80 million euros.

Champions League: Barca drawn against Lyon

Well what do you know. Out of all the teams we could have gotten—Chelsea, Arsenal, Inter Milan—Barcelona's UCL last sixteen opponents are Olympique Lyon! No offense to the Frenchies or anything, but this is truly the easy way out. We're looking forward to seeing our lads trounce them, home and away.

Barca Buzz: Pep to leave Barca?

Sources tell us that magical Pep may be leaving off coaching Barcelona come 2010. Surely this can't be true?
Apparently our dark-eyed darling has been putting an exhausting amount of work into managing the club, and isn't sure just how long he can keep that up. Of course, we love him for all he's done for Barca already, and his utter devotion to the cause is almost as enchanting as his chin dimple. So much, that its hard for us to imagine letting him go. Pep honey, don't do this to us just yet, Barca's only just fallen in love with you.

La Liga: Villareal vs. Barcelona, El Madrigal, Sunday, December 20, 19:00 CET

Well Barcelistas, after showing Madrid who’s boss in last week’s Liga clash, now Barca meets Villareal away. We all know the Balugrana have been a bit unlucky on El Madrigal in the past, but looking at the team’s past results, we think Barca should be able to give Villareal a good thrashing.

Random: Barca or Real?

Here are two lovely pictures. Spanish tennis star Nadal, posing with the stars of Real Madrid and—Barcelona? Now, we've seen a lot of odd things in the world of Football, but someone supporting both Barca and Real—that has got to be the height of ridiculousness. He may be Spanish and he may be cute, and hell, he could even be best buddies with Bojan; we however refuse to acknowledge the significance of one Rafael Nadal until he decides what his true colors are.

Match Report: Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid

Congratulations, Barcelistas everywhere: a well deserved victory over the Madridistas is, after three years of waiting, ours!

After eighty painful minutes of waiting for a goal, we were very close to tears before Eto’o came to the rescue. What made his goal even more special was that it was a team effort, with Xavi and Puyol collaborating to set it up before Eto’o The Hero finished it off. Teamwork can be so hot.

And lets not forget the bit of Messi Magic in the loss time (Leo seems to specialize in last minute goals against Madrid), take that Iker! Extra laughs were provided by Cannavaro crashing full into the goal post whilst trying to prevent Messi from scoring.
Also, Victor Valdes deserves a standing ovation for being simply outstanding. His save against Drenthe was just lovely, and we give him Man of the Match.

We're also a bit intrigued by Juande's game plan. Its as if he told his players to focus on two main things: a) stay rooted in front of the goal and by no means leave your half unless you're absolutely sure there's only Marquez and Valdes in theirs; and b) rain as many kicks on Messi's ankles as you can, even if it means getting booked.

It's too bad his jostling ten-man-defense clowns couldn't deliver. Maybe against Valencia next week he'll try a focus-on-possession-and-don't-let-them-get-near-the-ball-so-they-won't-score approach, and they might just scrape past with a draw.

The Weekly Pick: Daniel Alves

For looking scrumptiously naughty and mischievous. Is he planning booby traps for his teammates? Or simply reveling in the thought of whipping Madrid this weekend?

Pre-Match Buzz: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

Barcelistas, are you feeling it? Pre-Classico jitters have been creeping up on us and now we just can't wait for the Barca-Real clash. That is, can't wait to see our lads send Los Merengues home crying after Leo, Samu and Titi score a hattrick apiece against them... well okay, maybe that is taking it just a bit too far. But we know our darling boys will do us proud!

Pre-Match Buzz: Schuster Replaced

Barcelistas, we give you The Complete and Utter Intelligence of Real Madrid: Here we are, days before the Classico, the most important match of the season so far for both Barca and Real, and the Madrid board has just gone and sacked Bernd Schuster! His replacement? Ex-Sevilla boss Juande Ramos.
Not that we really care what they do. I mean, they could even hire Rijkaard for all it means to us—but this does strike us as rather funny, because now the players on Madrid have got to get used to this new coach and the changes he brings, and no way will they be able to adapt well enough in the short space of time before the Classico.
Also, we wonder if Madrid will ever be able to keep the same coach for more than one full season...

La Liga: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, Camp Nou, Saturday, December 13, 22:00 CET

Well, its here: El Classico, FC Barcelona's clash against our arch rivals, the wimps-in-white, Real Madrid. We're looking forward to this match, truly. We're not at all worried or anything—its kind of a devilish anticipation of seeing our gents totally dominate Madrid, on a footballing level as well as in terms of hotness. The Madridistas can't hold a candle to the Barca boys—what are Cannavaro, Raul and Casillas really, in front of Pique, Rafa and Victor?
But oh—back to the match itself. A win for us will mean the first triumph of Barcelona over Real Madrid in about three years—shocking, we know. We'll thank Frankie for that one the next time we see him.