La Liga Preview: FC Barcelona vs Real Mallorca
By: Ade C. |
13 Comments
Even thought everyone seems to have forgotten in the face of the catastrophe that is our coming to a draw in our last two matches, we have an important match to play on Saturday. We need to re-establish our superiority over the whole wide world after having stumbled over Osasuna and Rubin Kazan. RM is one measly point behind, so we can’t afford anything less than a victory. The fans are getting surly and some of us wake up screaming in the night after having flashbacks to the 07/08 season. Leo Messi seems to have lost his magic, Xavi is showing signs of exhaustion after dragging the whole team forwards match after match, and the spare pieces that ought to hold up our defence when Puyol, Piqué or Alves aren’t available aren’t quite fitting together as well as they should.
We need another Zaragoza victory. We need to watch our team play and marvel at the pretty (and I don’t just mean Piqué), instead of seething over missed chances, wasted passes, and crosses that a few someones ought to be nailed to. We need to gather our wits, regroup, set a new plan and shake off the memory of the recent unfavourable results.
And Real Mallorca are coming for a visit. Tsk, tsk…
Sorry, guys! Nothing personal...
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Barcelona 0, Rubin Kazan 0 – I can’t believe it’s not butter (better)!
By: Cameron | 15 Comments
And so I command, and so it shall be done.
Or at least, that’s what Pep wanted to have happen tonight. It didn’t quite turn out that way. Barcelona, traveling to the frigid unknowns of Municipal Institution Football Club Rubin Kazan and their home in Kazan. It was supposed to be a day of redemption, you know, from that game. We were going to plug away and break the deadlock on the frozen pitch, and we were going to applaud Pep for getting things right this time.
But then…..
? The look. You and me both buddy.
Category: Team NewsChampions’ League: Rubin Kazan Vs. Barcelona. And much more.
By: Ramzi | 18 Comments
Marching to Kazan!
You can feel the lack of satisfaction between Barcelona fans this season. It’s basically a result of high expectations. The satisfaction stocks rise and fall on weekly bases the same as the team performance varies. Every game has its own story, but still there are common denominators between all the matches Barcelona played this season, that is rooted to the team performance last season as well. This post is a preview for The Champions’ league game against Rubin Kazan. But make no mistake, it’s linked to the performance since the first Liga game and will have an impact on the fans expectations for the rest of the season. That’s why I will start with a general overview and the more I approach the end of the post the closer I will get to the mission in Kazan as we will end up with a solid base to evaluate the current situation, starting line ups and tactics. Besides, I hope it will help in setting criteria to measure performance regardless of the games results which has to do a lot with luck sometimes, and the opponent’s quality as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsThe not so Running of the Bulls: Osasuna 1 – 1 FC Barcelona
By: Pedro | 7 Comments
Every year, the famed Running of the Bulls event is held in Pamplona. Now, modern media has done a good job at exposing such exciting and traditional events for all the average people around the world to see and hear. So, i won’t have to describe the particulars of this event. A recollection of the few glimpses from the media, a general understanding that bulls aren’t as good as dogs when it comes to being man’s best friends and your imagination will all suffice in constructing this mental exercise.
Red. An acceptable color to entice bulls with is also culturally used to celebrate own goals.
I’m sure the common understanding is that such an event is dangerous in a very unsurprising sort of way. After all, bulls have horns, bulls are big, and when they are running at you it’s not because want your autograph. And thus, you’d imagine that in its history, there have been more than its fair share of bull and non-bull related deaths.
What if you were to guess? Would it be 5? No, maybe 25? 31? Well… Read the rest of this entry »
Live Blog: Barcelona @ Osasuna
By: Pedro | 4 Comments
Come one come all, as FC Barcelona go to Pamplona aiming to sneak away with a full three points. Have a laugh, a cup of tea, watch the running of the bulls and perhaps celebrate a goal or two. Live Blog is up until the match is over.
Barcelona @ Osasuna: “Banana peels, everywhere!”
By: Joan | 7 Comments
And so begins the Tourmalet. Barcelona dispelled rumors (or catcalls) of “Crisis!” last weekend against Zaragoza with a thumping performance, as if a transcendent hand had offered a palm of fortune from the baby blue skies. That’s not to say that Barcelona were fortunate or lucky to win. They were, however, fortunate to see Zaragoza approach the game with a returning-to-la-primera naivety, leaving the game’s initiative up for grabs from the first minute onwards.
Osasuna, under José Antonio Camacho, have been resolute in their approach to defending. Few sides have come away from the Reyno de Navarra with much – only Sevilla have snagged themselves all three points – and fewer will be as highly prepared for as Barcelona, who are concerned at the growing members of The Coalition for Anxious Clubs Prepared to Defend Vigorously, if vigorously were to be redefined as ruthlessly abrasive.
I bet you’re looking forward to it now. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsFIFA World Player Nominees and the Barça machine
By: Ade C. | 4 Comments
So, the list is out for the 23 male football players who are in the running to get the (second?) most prestigious footballing award, the 2009 FIFA World Player.
And guess what? That’s right! FC Barcelona is the club who has more players making the list. It’s almost not surprising anymore, isn’t it? Almost, I said. Though remember, Barça is also the club who has had more players picking up the award when playing for us!
Pretty, isn't it?
See the full list of nominees under the jump! Read the rest of this entry »
Cultural Leonesa 0, Barça 2, a.k.a. “Pedrito to the rescue (again)!”
By: Ade C. | 6 Comments
It probably wasn’t one of Barça’s most thrilling matches, but then again, when you field a team of youngsters against a third division team, you can’t expect an earth-shattering performance, can you? (well, yes, you could expect it, but you shouldn’t)
With Real Madrid’s precedent of losing 4-0 to a Segunda B team the day before, a few of us were slightly worried we’d see a similar upset happen at the Reino de León, especially since Pep had given a day off to most of our match-changing players. But once we shook off the shivers and reminded ourselves that this is the Copa del Rey, a competition apparently designed to give the youth-team kids something to look forward to, confidence slowly returned.
It was the perfect opportunity for Pep to play with the puppies... erm, I meant, try the young players…
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Copa del Rey Preview: Cultural Leonesa vs FC Barcelona
By: Ade C. | 12 Comments
Today is the day in which we embark in yet another competition. F.C. Barcelona enters the Copa del Rey race with a thrilling match against Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, a modest team that is currently sitting at the lower end of its group table in Segunda B (the third-tier league), currently risking slipping into Tercera (fourth-tier).
But remember, one of Lord Pep’s maxims is that you can’t trust anyone. Perfect strangers in the shape of Russian teams can come to the Camp Nou and beat us. Last year, an ickle Segunda B team knocked Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey, Iker Casillas notwithstanding, not to mention that it was an ickle Segunda B team that yesterday beat Real Madrid 4-0.
So, we’re taking this match seriously. And, to demonstrate our commitment to give a good show and make every team we face feel important, we’re only leaving home a few guys: Leo Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Piqué. I don’t know whether you’ve ever heard of any of them, but if it helps, I was told that Piqué is the guy who made a series of ads for a jeweler’s.
What do you mean we’re *not* taking this match seriously? Absences? What absences?
Liveblog: Barcelona @ Cultural Leonesa
By: Cameron | 1 Comment
Category: Team News
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