To Deustchland, without the baggage

You see, Barça players just have a love of the game, a joy that is not exhibited anywhere else on earth. Yesterday they played like they were 6 and apparently today they actually are 6 (see left). I mean, that’s cool. As long as they’re having fun.

Anyway, there’s a game tomorrow against Bayern Munich to consider and it’s much more interesting than the previous ones, if only because it involves an actual decision by Rijkaard. That it’s against a team of considerable quality is another reason you could consider it the first test of the year for FCB, but it’s mostly that Frank has left Ezquerro, Motta, and Maxi Lopez at home. Here’s who has been included in the squad:

Valdés, Jorquera, Henry, Xavi, Ronaldinho, Zambrotta, Iniesta, Eto’o, Belletti, Milito, Abidal, Oleguer, Márquez, Deco, Messi, Toure Yaya, Thuram, Marc Crosas, Gio dos Santos, and Jesus Olmo.

So no “descartados”, or odd-men-out if you will, on this particular trip as the three players look more and more likely to leave at some point soon. Off to Milan with you, Motta. We can use the €4million that’s been offered to buy a jungle gym for the Mini Estadi field, maybe even a teeter-totter if we’re lucky. La Masia will be jealous. Regardless, the squad is a much stronger version than appeared in the Asian tour, but with only one game left before competitive matches start, will it have sufficient time to gel? I certainly hope so.

Anyway, Mark van Bommel is playing tomorrow, which will be the first time he’s played his old team (no surprise there as it’s only been a year). Hopefully it will be a good match and since I’m allergic to losing, I hope we return to Barça with the Franz Beckenbauer trophy. It’s the Mehmet Scholl testimonial match too, so that’s pretty cool. With the league right around the corner (Sunday, August 26), this becomes an important match in terms of both getting the team in sync as well as avoiding more injuries.

The match: Wednesday 4pm EST (10pm Barcelona time).

Category: Barcelona, Transfers/Transfer Rumors

Tags: Barcelona, Transfers-Transfer Rumors

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