Match Report: Barcelona 2-0 Getafe

We're sorry for the lack of updates lately, but things have been busy... please bear with us, and hopefully we'll be able to pick up normal posting soon!

But right now we have a match to discuss: Barca's win over Getafe last night. The result was better than we'd expected, kudos to the boys for breaking the international curse and achieving this...

Even if it did take some time. The first half was pretty mediocre - wasted chances, loose balls, general slowness - but then Pedro and Jeffren came off, Leo and Andresito came on, and you could feel the difference it made.

We love Pedro to bits, but he was a bit disappointing this match. Jeffren did much better. Niether of them are Leo though, and no one clicks with Zlatan like Leo does. They way they work together is beautiful, and with a bit of Iniesta thrown in, it doesn't get much better.

Though a bit shaky on his feet, Zla scored the first goal from a great pass from Abidal, after having lost a few chances himself before that. But as the match progressed his playing became more sure, and soon enough he set Leo up beautifuly for the second goal, with yet another display of unselfishness - had it been Eto'o in that position, we're sure he would have taken the shot (and missed) instead of passing.

Seeing Iniesta on the pitch again was magic - we have missed him too much! He's not back in full blast, but that's expected. We're just excited that he's returned... and hopefully Rafa will be back soon as well.

This match was also Chygrynskiy's debut - he did okay, didn't show anything special that he might have to offer the team, but it is still way too early to lay judgement on the guy. He still needs to adapt to the team, we're eager to see how he'll develop with time.

La Liga: FC Barcelona vs Getafe, Coliseum Alfonso Pérez ,Saturday, September 12 2009, 18:00 CET

This match has got us both excited and nervous. The first, because it's been a while since we last saw the boys play, and we've missed it. The second, because no way is this going to be easy.

Getafe are a tricky team, and we usually have a hard time against them. The fact that most of our squad is just returning from international duty doesn't help either, especially with our star Leo Messi bound to be feeling glum what with Argentina's qualification struggles. We'll just have to hope that the international break won't take too much of a toll on the team.

The upside here is the return of Andres Iniesta. With many of our players wearily returning from their national teams, he's been resting up for this one and will take to the pitch with fresh legs and an eagerness to be playing for the first time in over three months. We're feeling like he's Barca's secret weapon for this match.

Also given the greenlight to play is Rafael Marquez, but for whatever reason, Pep did not call him up for this match. Chygrynskiy is included in the squad and might make his debut, although that's doubtful seeing as he has barely trained with the team since his arrival.

Whatever Pep decides to do, we hope it works out!

Random: Geri Won't Model, The Henry-Domenech Wars & Discovering Ibrahimovic

- Apparently, Gerard Pique has been turning down modeling deals repeatedly from various renowned international fashion designers, insisting that his focus is on football - which is just too bad, considering that the photo shoots this man does are simply made of sizzle. Word is that he may consent to a gig or two sometime in the future though, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

- The Robinho-to-Barca rumours don't look like they're stopping any time soon, and Robby himself is hinting left and right that joining the club is at the top of his Christmas list.

- Thierry Henry allegedly lashed out at his national team coach, Raymond Domenech, then denied everything.

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- Incredible... before Pep agreed to come coach Barcelona, he was almost on his way to manage Getafe. My, are we glad that that didn't go through, and we ended up with him instead! Now if only he would renew his contract.

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- You think you know Zlatan Ibrahimovic? No you don't. Not before you read this. And this. Quite possibly the most interesting things we've read in a while.

- It's international night again, so head back to the match schedule to check who our boys will be facing tonight - best of luck to them all!

Transfer Talk: Contract Complications

- Looks like there wasn't much truth in past reports that the world's favorite manager, Pep Guardiola, had closed a contract renewal with Barca; now word is that the club are desperately trying to secure his services for another year. Reportedly, Pep has been told to name his price and all his terms, basically the club have placed a blank contract in his hands.

King Chin Dimple is still hesitant to sign a new deal however, something about wanting "freedom" and not wanting to be an "expensive burden" if Barca aren't very successful. As if anyone would think of amazing Pep as a burden! And as for expensive, as far as we know his pay is lousy - he's not even included in the just released list detailing the world's top ten highest paid managers.

- And speaking of renewals, Carles Puyol's contract will be expiring next summer, and there isn't much progress concerning the club's efforts to make a new deal with him, with Puyol complaining that Pep doesn't consider him to be a 100% starting centerback. Details, details! Come back and talk to us when you've signed the contract, oh Capitan, because we refuse to even think of you not staying on Barca.

Here's hoping that Captain and Coach will be signing extensions with the club soon!

Random: New Season's Poll!

The new season calls for an updated poll, what with new players arriving and others leaving - which Barca Boy will win your votes as the ultimate hottie on the squad this time around?

Despite being new to the club, Gerard Pique won the last one by almost a hundred votes, with Leo Messi behind him followed by Bojan. Now that the the tables are reset, will Geri still be able to hold his spot in your hearts? Or will newcomer Zlatan Ibrahimovic dethrone him? Well you've got all season to decide, only time will tell!

Birthday Boy: Gabriel Milito

Barca's other curly-haired centerback, Gabriel Milito, has been out with his knee injury for a million years now, and could well be out for a trillion years more, but we won't be forgetting him anytime soon! Gaby is in our hearts as he turns twenty-nine today, and with his birthday comes an interesting development...

This day also happens to mark Gaby's return to the pitch. That's right, he's set to take up training with the team once again, sixteen months after getting the damned injury, in the next step of what will hopefully be a full recovery. He'll be accompanied by Barca medics as well as Luis Garcia, his therapist from the Argentine national team.

We've been missing him terribly on the team, so hopefully all goes as planned and Gaby is back and match-ready soon!

Gossip on the Guys: Ibra Thinks We'll Beat Inter

No, the sight of Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoying his water is not the reason for this post, although it could have been. We're actually here to talk about Zla's latest comments about facing his former club, Inter Milan...

After around a month of being a Barca boy, Zlatan is already heaping praise on his new team, rating them above his old one as he claims that Barcelona will beat Inter Milan when the two teams meet in the Champions League.

"We have better players, we play a much more beautiful style of football, possessing the ball and we always play on the attack."

"We practice a far more offensive game than Inter. That makes us better, and I have no doubt we will win. I know we will. We are stronger."

He's also pretty psyched about playing the match: "I cannot wait to return to my old stadium with a different shirt. It will be very exciting."

Ibra went on to admit his relief at scoring his first Barca goal against Gijon: "I can't deny that it has taken away some of the pressure, but I knew I would score some time."

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Well Zlatan darling, we don't really think anyone doubted that you would hit the net at some point - but we must say, it was a relief for us as well.

Transfer Talk: We Thought The Window Had Closed?

- The summer transfer window was supposed to have closed a few days ago, yet the rumours persist, with an avalanche of new reports crashing down on us, all claiming the same thing: A Robinho-Henry swap is on the cards for Barca and Man City.

Apparently, Pep is still hankering for a winger after failed attempts to sign Riera or Mata, and Robinho would be a fitting choice; while Man City owners are really keen on having Henry join their team. The two clubs are supposedly planning out the deal from now, in anticipation of carrying it out come the winter transfer window.

The way we see it, the club won't have it easy getting Titi to leave, but Robinho on the team is an interesting prospect... although things seem to be getting a little ahead of themselves with this one, as rumor goes around that he'll claim the number seven shirt recently vacated by Gudjohnsen. A bit too soon to decide on Robinho's Barca shirt, isn't it?

- Elsewhere, Gerard Pique continues to proclaim his desire for Cesc Fabregas to join Barca. Is it just us, or does Geri always start that up again once he's reunited with Cescy on the Spanish NT? Again, this is a move we would whole-heartedly welcome; and it seems that the likelihood of it happening would depend on how Arsenal will do this season, after hearing Cesc's latest remarks on the matter:

“I know all about the speculation about Barcelona but you have to understand I am a professional and I am an Arsenal player. We have made a good start and we can go on to do good things this season."

"As a youngster I admired Guardiola and Michael Laudrup at Barca. I learnt many things there, but it’s important to be yourself."

"You can never know what will happen in football, and it’s always an honour to be linked with a prestigious club like Barcelona, who I know all about. But let’s see how Arsenal does this season. I am sure we will win something soon."

- Last up, Rio Ferdinand is being linked with a Spain move, either to Barca or Real. Which we don't for a second believe will ever happen.

Internationals: Great Matches All Around

Hola Geri, what's the joke? We don't know what it is that's making Gerard Pique laugh like that during training, but we'd be laughing too if we had just scored a goal like his last night. And he's not the only Barca boy who scored for his NT...

- With all four Barca players who were called up to Spain (Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Busquets) starting their country's match against Belgium, Gerard Pique scored the third goal as Spain went on to win 5-0. Pique was unable to train the next day, suffering from a slight dorsal contracture, and spent the training session in the hands of the team's physiotherapists.

- Yaya Toure netted a screamer for Ivory coast, as they too won with five goals to nothing against Burkina Faso.

- In yet another 5-0 win, Dymtro Chygrynskiy's team, Ukraine, defeated Andorra with Chygy playing the full ninety minutes and giving a great performance.

- Sadly, Leo Messi along with Argentina suffered a harsh 1-3 loss at the hands of Brazil on their own turf, in Messi''s hometiwn of Rosario; despite Leo's hard work throughout the match. Argentina are on the ice for qualifying to the World Cup after this; but congrats to Dani Alves and Brazil for securing their spot!

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winning goal for Sweden in the last minutes of their match against Hungary, giving them a 2-1 win. Despite the fact that he was playing with discomfort in the knee, he played the whole match, leading his team as Captain.

- Thierry Henry also scored a decisive goal for France, allowing them to come off with a 1-1 draw against Romania. Barca player Eric Abidal, however, was benched throughout the match.

Gossip on the Guys: Pep Talk

Barca coach Pep Guardiola had what we can only imagine was an incredible evening for him, attending the Coldplay concert last night at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium, as one of over 63,000 spectators. Pep, there with his wife Cristina, was recognized and recieved by the fans with a standing ovation before the concert began. He took it humbly and was pretty quiet throughout the concert, barely rising from his seat; but he could be seen singing along when Coldplay performed the song "Fix You".

In other Pep-related news, both Catalan sources Sport and EMD claim that Barca's vice president, Rafael Yuste, has confirmed the renewal of Pep's contract untill 2011 - fantastic news if we ever heard it! Trainers, doctors and other technitions will all remain as part of the staff as well, at Pep's request; however the continuity of assistant coach Tito Vilanova won't be settled until the new board is elected.

Random: Leo's Camera skills, Andresito's Book & Chygy's Cocktail

- Looks like Leo Messi's been feeling kind of frisky lately - apparently, this photo of Xavi was taken by Leo himself, having snatched the camera from one of the photographers at a recent training session to snap a picture of his teammate. Leo couldn't possibly be any cuter, and he's got some serious camera skills too!

- Andres Iniesta has released his new book, entitled "A Year In Paradise", his diary of the treble season, the presentation having taken place yesterday at the Camp Nou. In the book, Andres describes what he experienced during that incredible season, focusing on eight main points: his goal at Stamford Bridge, Pep's arrival as coach, the injuries he went through, the team's 6-2 victory over Real Madrid, the Copa final, the Liga win, the final in Rome and the treble celebrations.

- Barca Regal, the basketball team of Barcelona, have just signed much sought-after star Ricky Rubio for the next six seasons. Not that this has anything to do with our Barca, the football club; but this picture if him and Bojan is so adorable, we just had to post it.

- New signing Chyrgynskiy has yet to make his debut for Barca or even train with the team at all, but already he's being honored in the city: The Boadas Cocktail Bar is Barcelona has actually created a cocktail named after him. Which is kind of unfitting seeing as he doesn't drink, but still... it's always nice to have something named after you we suppose.

- Reportedly, Andres Iniesta and Rafael Marquez have recovered from their injuries, and will get the greenlight to play in Barca's next match - finally! We've missed them too much.

Gossip on the Guys: Zlatan's Barca Life

It's been like two days since the international break kicked off, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic has wasted no time in going and getting his hair cut. Normally we really don't like it when players spring new haircuts on us, because more often than not they are horrific (think Pique). But, we are quite liking this look on Zla. The longer hair he was sporting before was just stringy, scraggly and altogether boring - the shorter hair has more character.

But we're not here to talk about what Zlatan is doing while on the national team, today our focus is his life on Barca. Catalan paper Sport have published an interesting new article on how our Swede is adapting on the team...

- Zlatan has become great buddies with El Capitan, Carles Puyol, who is his advisor of sorts on all things Barca. In the dressing room at Camp Nou, Zla chose the locker formerly occupied by Sylvinho, seeing it's situated right next to Puyol's; instead of taking Eto'o's old one.

- Pep Guardiola is also doing his share to look after Zlatan as he adapts to the team, and takes care to exchange a few words and ask him how he is every morning as training, speaking in Italian, a language both of them are comfortable with. The rest of the players however take to addressing Zla in Spanish, and he's beginning to pick up on a few words and phrases.

- We've seen how Zlatan's been bonding with Leo Messi on the pitch; and they get along just as well off of it. At mealtimes they always share a table, along with Maxwell, Dani and Marquez. As for the rest of the team, the younger lads usually share a table together, with the more veteran players on another; and a fourth group is made up of the French-speakers on the team.

- Zla has yet to find himself a home in Barcelona. He's currently staying in a hotel with Maxwell, who is a very close friend of his; and during their first weeks at Barca in particular, the two did almost everything together.

- He isn't usually the first onto the field, but he's always the last one to leave the stadium, prone to spending over a quarter hour in front of a mirror scrutinizing his appearance. And, since joining Barca, he's added yet another tattoo to the eleven he showed up here with: a transparent ink tattoo on the navel, which can only be viewed with a certain artificial light. Which we are finding pretty wierd.

- Zlatan is one of the few players on the team who isn't a picky eater at all, and has no problem following the specific diet inflicted on the Barca boys. He isn't a fan of post-match or post-training massages either, but prefers sauna rooms and the like. He doesn't occupy himself with iPods or any form of electronics during match day; preferring to just relax and stay focused.

Internationals: Leo And Dani Face-off!

Barca coach Pep Guardiola is only left with three fit players (Valdes, Pinto, Pedro) and three injured ones (Iniesta, Marquez, Maxwell) to carry on with training, as the rest of the lads are off to join their national teams, for this week's World Cup qualifers:

- The biggest match is set to be the clash of giants when Argentina take on Brazil in Rosario, which happens to be the hometown of Lionel Messi. Leo will play with his country, Argentina, and he'll be facing Barca teammate Dani Alves, who has joined up with Brazil. The match will be on September 5; and afterwards both teams will play other matches on September 9, as Brazil face Chile and Argentina face Paraguay.

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- Xavi, Busquets, Pique and Puyol will all be participating with Spain against Belgium (September 5) and Estonia (September 9).

- Ibrahimovic is called up to Sweden to play against Hungary (September 5) and Malta (September 9); however reports are that he may have picked up a knee injury during the Gijon match, and that Barca medics have contacted those of the Swedish NT so they can examine him.

- Chygrynskiy returns to Ukraine, where he'll join his national side to take on Andorra (September 5) and Belarus (September 9).

- Thierry Henry and Eric Abidal join their home country France as they face Romania (September 5) and Serbia (September 9).

- Keita plays with his team, Mali, against Benin (September 6) while Yaya Toure with Ivory Coast will play Burkina Faso (September 5).

- While the aforementioned matches are all WC qualifiers, Bojan, Jeffren and Fontas will all be playing European qualifers with the U-21 Spanish national team, facing Poland (September 4) and Liechtenstein (September 7).

Random: Meet Chygy, King Leo & The Official Shirt Numbers

- Let's get to know the new man on Barca, Chygrynskiy - who we are just going to call Chygy from now on. According to Sport, this dude is quite a devout guy. His friends call him Jesus Christ, and not just because he's got the Jesus-style hair and beard...
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He hates nightclubs. He never drinks alcohol. He's always the very first to show up at training, and not in a flashy sports car - he hates those. You know, maybe we'll just call him Chysus...
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He spends his time reading and watching movies, or, apparently, working on his studies: he's got a university education, a finished Company Management degree, specialising in finance, and says Chygy: "I'd like to carry on studying all my life, just getting better every day." Quite a character, isn't he?

- The list of what players will be wearing which number on Barca has offcially come out... most of the lads are keeping their original shirts, with the exception of Dani who is wearing '2' instead of his last season's '20'... while newcomers Maxwell and Chygy have taken '19' and '21' respectively. With Guddy's departure the '7' shirt remains unoccupied; we like to hope that it's being kept on ice for when and if we ever sign David Villa. See the full list here.

- King Leo is staying in a five-star hotel with his private entourage, apart from the rest of the Argentine national team, where he spends his days playing PlayStation. And apparently the man assigned as his bodygaurd is some kind of criminal?

- Maxwell and Bojan are still nursing injuries picked up in the match against Gijon, but it's nothing too serious for either one; and they'll be back soon. Bojan might even play during this international break with the Spanish U-21 sqaud, after being called up. He'll be taking a medical examination to determine if he can participate.
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- The summer transfer window has been officially closed; that puts an end to the not-so-suspenseful suspense Txiki has been trying to stir up with his mysterious claims of a last minute signing. Transfer reports go on though, and right now word is that Barca will probably sign Cesc Fabregas in either June or December. We just hope so...

Transfer Talk: Goodbye Gudjohnsen, Henrique

We're feeling sad about Henrique. He was signed, loaned out for a year, then brought back home as a promising addition to the team; but after a couple of preseason performances it was decided he still needs to develop more. And out he goes on another loan, this time to Spanish side Racing Santander. Well, at least he stays in Spain, and will get more used to Liga football. This also means that we'll be facing him, twice; we're not too eager about that either.

We can't help but feel that this decision was kind of hasty, that perhaps, with a bit of time, Henrique would have fit in fine on Barca... after all, adaptation doesn't happen overnight. Pique wasn't as exactly splendiferous when he first returened to Barca a year ago as he is now. But, what's done is done.

Also by way of last minute transfers, Barca have sold Eidur Gudjhonsen to French club Monaco. Well, kind of sold him. The club won't recieve a transfer fee, they just might get up to two million euros depending on how well Guddy does. Crappy much? Who negotiated this deal, one of the team's physios? Or are Barca just that desperate to get rid of him?

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Anyway, this means that the number seven formerly occupied by him is now up for grabs - we vote Bojan should take it.

Match Report: Barcelona 3-0 Sporting Gijon

Opinions are spinning around that Barca didn't play as well as their standard during this match; but the way we see it, opening up the Liga with a 3-0 win in the absence of Messi, Henry and Iniesta and with Ibra still adapting, is a hell of an achievment. There's lots to be celebrated as a result of this match:

How mind-blowing was Bojan? We don't even remember when we last saw him play so well, with such assertiveness, presence, and instinct on the goal. The way he dashed forward and ducked his head into the ball to score off Keita's shot just oozed confidence - and cockiness. He was incredible, had an awesome match which will hopefully be the first of many more to come; it's just too bad that he had to be subbed out for injury. Reports are that he'll be out for one to two weeks, and we're finding it weird that he was taken down by none other than his pal Alberto Botia, who was loaned to Gijon from Barca B around a month ago.

And Ibrahimovic - he scored. He scored. Ever since he began playing with the team, you could tell how goal-thirsty this man was. His performance wasn't top level either, and we think it's because he's been pressuring himself too much to score; because frankly, there's a lot expected from him considering his transfer fee and what he's replacing. And last night, after numerous tedious tries, finally he netted his first Barca goal, and with it, the pressure has lifted. You could sense the relief. Even in what little time remained after that, it was clear that he was getting into the game more. The goal has been a big step for Ibra, and if that's what made him take his shirt off at the end of the match, then all the better.

Also can't overlook Dani Alves here; sporting an unusual haircut wich we surprisingly like on him, he gave just so much in this match. He was everywhere, chasing balls, creating chances, and rocking the hell out of the pitch with his beautiful, beautiful crosses. He assisted two out of the three goals and set up many more potential ones, possibly his best performance since the start of the preseason.

Xavi was top notch as well, and Keita was as fabulous as we've ever seen him. Do his headers rock or what? And speaking of headers, all three of Barca's goals were scored that way: awesome.

Pep took a chance resting Yaya and Henry with Messi and Iniesta also missing from the squad, and it worked out fine. Some players weren't at their best, true; we weren't feeling Pedro very much for example. But you can't expect everyone to have fresh legs especially after the Supercup a just a few days ago; we think this match turned out pretty well on the whole. It's just too bad that Bojan and Max both had to be taken off for injury; hopefully they'll be fine.