FC Barcelona News

Yesterday was La Merce, celebrating the patron saint of Barcelona and all around Barcelona were celebrations for this week long street party. There was time for celebrating at the Nou Camp too, with a 3-2 victory that almost saw disaster snatched from the jaws of victory, and also the fact that the rain of the previous two days had held off.

Pep Guardiola had said that each time he wore a suit his team won, and from now on always will, but whether that is the reason for Barcelona’s improved play is in some doubt. Barcelona kept high possession as always and dominated Betis. However, they also seemed to be gelling as a team, something lacking in previous matches.

The star of the night is surely Samuel Eto’o, who just a few short weeks ago was unwanted in the Barcelona squad. In minute 16, a pass from Messi to Eto’o at the edge of the area saw it hit the crossbar and into the net; and just 6 minutes later Messi ran forward into the area with the ball and passed it to a waiting Eto’o right in the goal mouth making the score 2-0.

The problem was after being 2 goals up the team seemed to drop the pace and while they still attacked, it was without much conviction for much of the time and allowing Betis several chances.

The second half saw Barcelona act like they’d already won the match, with some really lethargic play, and Betis on the attack. In the 57th minute a corner created from Victor Valdes knocking the ball out against a long shot from Betis saw some scrappy defending from Barcelona resulting in an indirect free kick in the area for dangerous play. Valdes’s requests to his team mates to strengthen a defensive wall went unheeded and the ball went straight through, and into the goal - Valdes was furious that it could have been avoided. And then in the 66th minute Betis charged forward and Jose Mari Romero knocked the ball past Valdes and into the net.

With Bojan brought in in place of Eto’o the pace increased again, and it looked like Barcelona had the spirit to keep fighting, which sometimes disappears. However it was Gudjohnsen who saved the day with a shot from inside the area and the squad playing as a team once again. At the side of the pitch Eto’o went to celebrate Gudjohnsen’s goal with Guardiola; while clearly Eto’o has let bygones be bygone, Guardiola look like he was going to punch the Cameroon striker before embracing him.

Sporting Gijon is a newcomer to Spain’s top division and were unlikely to have put on a strong show, but all the same Pep Guardiola must have slept a little more soundly after Barcelona’s comfortable 6-1 away victory - their first league victory of the season.

After beating Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last week the squad’s morale seems to have been boosted and although one of the goals was an own goal by Gijon, Messi scored twice, with Xavi, Eti’o and Iniesta all adding to the tally.

The match started in what is becoming the common pattern of high possession by Barça, who are then unable to do anything with the ball. However, they were able to keep up the pace so that in the 27th minute came the first goal from Xavi. Barcelona’s high possession resulted in 11 corners in the first half hour - the eleventh corner being the opening to Barcelona’s second goal of the night, scored by Eto’o.

The start of the second half saw an own goal by Gijon, followed by a goal in Gijon’s favour in the 50th minute. However, any hope for the home team was lost when Gerard was sent off for a foul on Messi. With Gijon down to ten men, Barcelona’s dominance became completely overwhelming, and the result was a succession of goals.

While this is a good result for Barcelona - and perhaps the turning point for Guardiola - Gijon is easily the weakest team on La Liga and with Barcelona playing Betis on Wednesday, before visiting Espanyol next weekend there could be some further shocks ahead.

LA LIGA 2008/2009

Last night saw Sporting visit the Nou Camp from Lisbon in Portugal for the first match in the Champions League group stage. Guardiola was dressed up to the nines for the occasion, although his customary stubble undermined the effect, and playing Henry, Eto’o and Messi up front.

Barcelona started off pretty much where in the same place they’d been on Saturday, with attack after attack running out of steam. However, in the 21st minute a corner from Xavi found its way to Marquez’s head and into the back of the net.

The first real sign of danger to Barcelona came in minute 30, from a foul by Puyol. Sporting went on the attack and was scrappily saved by the Barça defence and then grabbed by Victor Valdes.

Towards the end of the first half the squad were starting to gel and a hint of the old Barça magic was happening. However, when an attack on the Sporting goal ended in failure in the 43rd minute Sporting took possession completely and the ball was soon up in the Barcelona area creating another moment of danger.

Four minutes into the second half Sporting were on the attack again, the rest period seeming to have not done much for Barcelona. An apparent handball was not given by the ref and Puyol cleared the ball from the area.

Still Barcelona attacked, and in the 59th minute Eto’o scored from the penalty spot, although the foul on him wasn’t clear. Perhaps motivated by this last goal, the squad began to get things together again and play as a team.

With Toure now brought on in place of Eto’o, Sporting put on one very sustained attack that Valdes eventually got his hands to. With the visitors having stepped up their pace a notch or two, a foul on Iniesta went unnoticed and failed to stop play for Iniesta to receive medical attention. Finally in the 71st minute Sporting got their moment and Tonel scored.

Barça keot up their attack until the end and in the 86th minute a pass from Iniesta to Xavi paid off making the final result 3-1 to the home team.

Overall, not FC Barcelona at their best, but perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Guardiola needs to continue to improve his team if they are going to stand any chance of keeping their European ambitions alive.

Last night saw Racing de Santander visit the Nou Camp in the first home match of the new season, a match that was last lost in 1987. However, the final result is, according to Catalan television, the worst start to the season since the 1970s and a section of the fickle Barça crowd showed their displeasure at the result by waving their handkerchiefs during the match.

In some ways it is hard to see why Barcelona failed to win, as during the first half they kept possession for 80 percent of the match and when losing the ball, recapturing it quickly. However, possession isn’t the same as attacking the goal, and this they did far too rarely during the first half, making it spectacularly dull to watch.

Hleb was brought down in the 36^th minute and in clear agony, earning Racing a yellow car, one of several throughout the match. After being attended by medics he was helped off the pitch, limping heavily and it was later announced that he’ll be out of action for some time with ligament damage.

When the teams came on after half time it looked like Barça were determined to do something, with Dani Alves immediately attacked Racing’s goal, although unsuccessful. And when Iniesta was taken down in the penalty area it looked like it would go Barcelona’s way - the penalty wasn’t given though.

However, Barça had clearly ratcheted up the pressure, with a long hard shot from Xavi clearing the cross bar in the 51st minute, a quick flurry of play from Keita to Iniesta to Pedro failing to go in two minutes later following soon after by a near own goal caused by Barcelona’s increased pressure.

Leo Messi was brought in to increase the pressure on racing in place of Keita and immediately got to work, with a cheer of support from the Barça crowd and a couple of fast attacks on the Racing goal. And when Barcelona were awarded a penalty in the 69th minute, Messi was finally able to put the ball in the back of the net.

Just five minutes later though and Racing were awarded a free kick. Hitting the ball hard, it was slightly deflected and completely misjudged by Victor Valdes, who dived the wrong way. Barcelona kept up the attack, but failed to do anything more and the final result was 1-1.

Overall, the second half was much more exciting to watch, and Barcelona’s possession down to 64 percent reflected the fact that they were losing the ball more often to Racing because they were attacking the goal. However, the team is suffering from exactly the same problem as under Rijkaard, regardless of the squad having had an extreme makeover - despite dominating possession of the ball and attacking the goal frequently they fail to score.

Guardiola must have thought his honeymoon would last longer than these first two matches of the season. Hailed as a deity when first announced in the early summer, he has shown that he can’t walk on water after all.

“David beats Goliath” is how the Catalan television news put it, but however it is expressed there can be no doubt that Barcelona should have won this match. Once again the team is playing little differently from under the steardship of Frank Rijkaard, with plenty of opportunities that are wasted. Josep Guardiola needs to make a difference, or his honeymoon period with the fans will be very short lived.

Although there should have been little doubt, Barça qualified on Tuesday night after beating Wisla Krakow 4-1 on aggregate.

However, Guardiola has little reason to celebrate as his squad performed poorly. After the 4-0 home win, Barcelona struggled to win Gamper through sheer luck and never quite got together for the away leg of the Champions League qualifier.

Little seems to have changed in how the squad was performing under Frank Rijkaard, which could mean that Barça selected the wrong manager in Pep Guardiola and he is just as poor as Rijkaard, or else he is just as good as Rijkaard and the problem lies elsewhere. Perhaps that is being unfair on Guardiola and he needs to work with his team a little, but the squad should be approaching the start of the new season in better shape than they have displayed in the last 2 matches.

Barça fans are notoriously unforgiving, and so there needs to be a radical improvement soon.

Other news is that Joan Laporta managed to retain his position as club president after a vote by the club’s super delegates.

The Nou Camp saw an impressive display last night as Boca Juniors from Argentina visited to compete in the Gamper trophy. With a new manager and new players to show off, the stadium was a buzz of excitement, and a display to seemingly compete withe the Olympics opening.

 However, after Barcelona’s goal heavy friendlies played recently, the match against Boca must have been a disappointment. The visitors out on a strong display and eventually went ahead 1 goal.

It looked as though it was going to stay that way too. At the end of the second half the teams were given a very generous 5 minutes injury time. Puyol made the most of it and scored. And with a few seconds to go Eto’o scored too.

That’s it for the year, with Frank Rijkaard’s final match as manager of FC Barcelona. The Catalans visited Murcia on Saturday, where they provided a massive goal-scoring display - the final result was Murcia 3, Barcelona 5. In many ways this is the end of an era for Barça - perhaps it fell short of reaching the heights of Cruyff’s dream team, but despite this last season, it has been a hugely successful team. However, the days when Ronaldinho could do no wrong are long past and it’s time for him to find a team where he can return to his former glory; and it is for Barcelona to replan, refocus and build an equally strong side.

Frank Rijkaard’s final appearance as Barça’s manager at the Nou Camp ended in another humiliating defeat for the Catalan club.

After going 2-0 up following goals from Henry and Eto’o , Mallorca fought back and equalised. However, they  made good use of injury tim, scoring a third goal in the 93rd minute, securing a victory against Barcelona. The small number of supporters who attended the match showed their clear displeasure at Deco, Henry and Eto’o, who were continuously booed throughout the match.

However, appreciation was shown towards Frank Rijkaard and despite him leaving with Barça in a seemingly poor condition, his time with the club is sure to be remembered fondly once Barcelona has moved on.

Once again Barcelona were humiliated, this time in El Classico at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. For most of the match there may as well have been three players in the Barça squad, with only Messi, Puyol and Valdes showing any kind of spirit. Goal after goal was delivered by Real Madrid in the pouring rain, so much so it was painful to watch and when Deco was shown the yellow card in the second half, his comment to the ref saw him expelled,  surely done to get aware from the slaughter as soon as possible.

The only compensation came towards the end when Messi passed a long ball to Henry, who put it in the net - small compensation for a 4-1 defeat though.