Simply Barcelona Tickets

Teams decided for 2009/10 La Liga

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:30:20 +0000

Tenerife, Real Zaragoza and Xerez made it into the first division after the second division season finished last night. They replace Betis, Numancia and Recreativo de Huelva who failed to escape relegation.

CD Tenerife’s main claim to fame is goes back to 1992 and 93 when they bean Real Madrid in the last match of the season, not only escaping relegation, but also handing the title to FC Barcelona; the same occured in the following year, although on that occasion they finished 5th in the league and played in the UEFA Cup, losing to Juventus.

Real Zaragoza is rejoining the top league after a single season in the second division. Previously they had been in the first division since 2003/04, while Xerez is joining the first division for the first time in its history.

Barcelona ends season on 87 points

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:59:18 +0000

Barcelona final few matches of the season may not have showered them in glory, but perhaps they were a good opportunity to test out some of the Barça B talent and give them some experience of top flight professional football - the final match of the season, playing against Deportivo, ended in a 1-1 draw, with Eto’o scoring the equalizer just before the final whistle.

1-0 Bodipo (min 31)
1-1 Eto’o (min 89)

With the last match in the Spanish League now played, we at least know who won’t be playing next year. Betis, Numancia and Recreativo all go down to the 2nd division, although we won’t know who is coming up for another few weeks. Barcelona’s second team, RCD ESpanyol managed to save themselves from relegation to the delight of many people in Barcelona, something that earlier in the season looked like a sure thing.

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	38	27	6	5	105	35	87
2	Real Madrid	38	25	3	10	83	52	78
3	Sevilla	38	21	7	10	54	39	70
4	At. Madrid	38	20	7	11	80	57	67
5	Villarreal	38	18	11	9	61	54	65
6	Valencia	38	18	8	12	68	54	62
7	Deportivo	38	16	10	12	48	47	58
8	Malaga	38	15	10	13	55	59	55
9	Mallorca	38	14	9	15	53	60	51
10	Espanyol	38	12	11	15	46	49	47
11	Almeria	38	13	7	18	45	61	46
12	Santander	38	12	10	16	49	48	46
13	Athletic	38	12	8	18	47	62	44
14	Gijon	38	14	1	23	47	79	43
15	Osasuna	38	10	13	15	41	47	43
16	Valladolid	38	12	7	19	46	58	43
17	Getafe	38	10	12	16	50	56	42
18	Betis	38	10	12	16	51	58	42
19	Numancia	38	10	5	23	38	69	35
20	Huelva	38	8	9	21	34	57	33

Barça win Champions League

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:04:51 +0000

It took them a few minutes to get into the game against Manchester United, and those early minutes included some unnerving play by Cristiano Ronaldo, but once Barça stepped up the pace they controlled the game completely.

Once in control came the first goal from Samuel Eto’o who took the ball past the Man United defence and knocked in the ball so gently that many people didn’t believe it had gone in. However, when it was clear that the goal had been scored, Barcelona erupted.

From that point Barcelona lifted the game up a notch and Manchester never really looked like they were contenders. While a second Barça goal looked likely, it wasn’t until the 70th minute that Xavi crossed to Messi, who headed the ball into the net.

At the end of the match the Barcelona sky was lit with fireworks, while people all over the city celebrated the treble - Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League.

1-0 Eto’o (min 10)
2-0 Messi (min 70)

FC Barcelona shirt - official 2009/10 kit now available

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:40:48 +0000

FC Barcelona showed off their new kit for the 2009/10 season last Saturday against Osasuna, and the good news is that it is now available to order online.

The official 2009/10 FC Barcelona shirt was designed by Nike and features traditional blue and burgandy “blaugrana” bars, rather than the blocks of colour used on the 2008/09 shirt. This home shirt is available in sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL.

You can also have the shirt printed with your favourite player’s name and number or customised to your own preference using the official La Liga or Champions League style, or add sleeve patches for £5.

The FC Barcelona shirt and other kit is available from UK Soccer Shop.

League celebrations at the Nou Camp for last home match of season

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:07:47 +0000

With the league title already in their pocket, the Nou Camp was ready for a celebration on Saturday night. The night was hardly typical, and included an early outing for the 2009/2010 kit, which returns to the more traditional bars of colour on the shirt, rather than the blocks of colour for this year.

New kit or not, with a substandard team being fielded against Osasuna owing to the stars being rested ahead of Wednesday and the Champions League title, it was the visiting team that triumphed. Not that it will have caused them too much cheer, as they are on the brink of relegation, something that Espanyol, Barcelona’s second team, look as if they’ve escaped.

As the last home match of the season it was a shame to not put on more of a show for the crowd, but once the match was over the real show began. Pep Guardiola took the microphone and addressed the crowd, and each of the Barça players had his turn, and the skyline of Barcelona was lit up with fireworks as the players passed round the Cava bottle, which hopefully was consumed moderately - Wednesday night may be a different matter.

0-1, Pandiani (min 25)

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	37	27	5	5	104	34	86
2	Real Madrid	37	25	3	9	82	50	78
3	Sevilla	37	20	7	10	52	39	67
4	At. Madrid	37	19	7	11	77	57	64
5	Villarreal	37	17	11	9	58	52	62
6	Valencia	37	17	8	12	66	54	59
7	Deportivo	37	16	9	12	47	46	57
8	Malaga	37	15	10	12	55	56	55
9	Mallorca	37	14	9	14	51	57	51
10	Almeria	37	13	7	17	45	58	46
11	Santander	37	12	9	16	48	47	45
12	Espanyol	37	11	11	15	43	49	44
13	Athletic	37	12	8	17	47	60	44
14	Valladolid	37	12	6	19	45	57	42
15	Getafe	37	10	11	16	49	55	41
16	Betis	37	10	11	16	50	57	41
17	Gijon	37	13	1	23	45	78	40
18	Osasuna	37	9	13	15	39	46	40
19	Numancia	37	10	5	22	38	67	35
20	Huelva	37	8	9	20	33	55	33

Villarreal decides Spanish League title

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:28:57 +0000

While the league title was almost inevitable for Barça, in the end it was Villarreal who decided when. After drawing with Barcelona last week and delaying the inevitable, Villarreal beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Saturday, thereby removing them from contending the title.

With the title in the bag, Saturday turned into a party night all over Barcelona, with crowds congregating in Plaça Catalunya. Unfortunately the celebrations got out of hand once again and when a minority of troublemakers started to cause trouble the riot police were called in, with predictable results.

The end result is that on May27th - date of the Champions League final - people may not be allowed to congregate in Plaça Catalunya and Canaletas at the top of the Ramblas, the traditional place to celebrate Barça victories.

Following the league title on Saturday, it was a very much reduced squad to visit Mallorca for Sunday night’s game. Severn first team players were rested and the team was hardly familiar except for Samuel Eto’o - who wants to take the trophy for highest scoring player in the league - and Dani Alves.

The result was predictable - Mallorca won 2-1 after two goals wowards the end of the second half after Barcelona had lead from the 10th minute - but with the league wrapped up FC Barcelona have bigger things to focus on.

0-1, Eto’o (min 10)
1-1, Arango (min 73)
2-1, Cléber Santana (min 78)

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	36	27	5	4	104	33	86
2	Real Madrid	36	25	3	8	81	47	78
3	Sevilla	36	19	7	10	51	39	64
4	At. Madrid	36	18	7	11	73	56	61
5	Valencia	36	17	8	11	65	51	59
6	Villarreal	36	16	11	9	55	51	59
7	Deportivo	36	16	9	11	47	45	57
8	Malaga	36	15	9	12	54	55	54
9	Mallorca	36	13	9	14	48	56	48
10	Almeria	36	13	7	16	45	55	46
11	Athletic	36	12	8	16	46	56	44
12	Santander	36	11	9	16	47	47	42
13	Valladolid	36	12	6	18	44	55	42
14	Espanyol	36	10	11	15	40	49	41
15	Betis	36	10	10	16	49	56	40
16	Getafe	36	9	11	16	48	55	38
17	Gijon	36	12	1	23	43	77	37
18	Osasuna	36	8	13	15	38	46	37
19	Numancia	36	10	5	21	38	66	35
20	Huelva	36	8	9	19	33	54	33

One down - two to go

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:41:55 +0000

Last night saw FC Barcelona pitched against Athletic Club de Bilbao in the Copa del Rey - the King’s Cup - played in Valencia between the two teams that have won the trophy more times than anyone else.

Played in front of King Juan Carlos, this match was always going to be interesting as the teams represent “the other Spain” in the form of Catalonia and The Basque Country, nations that have their own culture, traditions and languages of which they are fiercely proud - when the Spanish National anthem was played before the match, it was to the accompaniment of whistling and booing.

Barça were the clear favourites, with Athletic having little real hope of taking the trophy. However, the match was extremely good natured from both players and spectators, with everyone there to enjoy themselves.

This victory was the 25th Copa del Rey title for Barcelona, and after the match the squad replaced their shirts with one that stated “Rei de Copes” and “25″ on the back - “King of Cups” in Catalan.

1-0, Toquero (min 9)
1-1, Touré Yaya (min 32)
1-2, Messi (min 54)
1-3, Bojan (min 57)
1-4, Xavi (min 64)

Injury time equalizer delays league title for Barça

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:51:39 +0000

Villrreal’s last minute equalizer showed FC Barcelona out how painful injury time can be, the first match after their own injury time equalizer against Chelsea.

Barcelona was certainly in a party mood last night, with the stadium full and crowds gathered in Plaça Catalunya to celebrate the hoped for league title. However, with Real Madrid losing on Saturday and one point from last night’s draw, Barcelona need just one more point to be crowned champions, which they are almost certain to do.

Villarreal were always going to be the toughest of the remaining matches, and despite Barça taking an early lead thanks to a goal by Keita, the visitors played to win. At the break the score was 3-1 to Barça, making it look like the night to celebrate, but Villarreal refused to lie down and let Barcelona walk away with the three points they were after.

At the same time, Barcelona were unable to improve their own score in the second half, but in the 77th minute Abidal was sent off and Mati Fernández scored from the penalty spot. Down to 10 men, it still looked good for Barcelona; however, midway through 4 minutes of injury time the worst thing happened and Llorente equalized for Villarreal.

While it was an obvious disappointment to all, the atmosphere in the stadium and in the city as a whole was excellent. Barcelona play Athletic on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey, and then visit Mallorca next weekend, where the league title will hopefully be decided at last.

1-0 Keita (min 11)
1-1 Llorente (min 22)
2-1 Eto’o (min 35)
3-1 Alves (min 45)
3-2 Mate Fernández (min 77)
3-3 Llorente (min 90)

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	35	27	5	3	103	31	86
2	Real Madrid	35	25	3	7	79	44	78
3	Sevilla	35	19	6	10	51	39	63
4	Valencia	35	17	8	10	65	50	59
5	At. Madrid	35	17	7	11	72	56	58
6	Villarreal	35	15	11	9	52	49	56
7	Deportivo	35	16	8	11	46	44	56
8	Malaga	35	15	9	11	53	53	54
9	Almeria	35	13	7	15	45	53	46
10	Mallorca	35	12	9	14	46	55	45
11	Athletic	35	12	8	15	46	55	44
12	Valladolid	35	12	6	17	42	52	42
13	Santander	35	10	9	16	44	45	39
14	Espanyol	35	9	11	15	39	49	38
15	Getafe	35	9	10	16	47	54	37
16	Betis	35	9	10	16	47	56	37
17	Osasuna	35	8	12	15	38	46	36
18	Gijon	35	11	1	23	41	76	34
19	Huelva	35	8	9	18	33	53	33
20	Numancia	35	9	5	21	37	66	32

Barça through to Champions League final

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:07:44 +0000

Barcelona took another step closer to the Champions League trophy last night after a 1-1 draw against Chelsea thanks to a last minute goal from Iniesta.

Following the match were ugly scenes from several Chelsea players, unhappy at some of the refereeing decisions, which admitadly had been variable in both legs.

The final will be played in Rome on 27th May against Manchester United - please note we are unlikely to have tickets for the final.

Watch out Chelsea - here comes Barça

admin — Sun, 03 May 2009 11:09:21 +0000

Watch out Chelsea, he comes Barça! That seems to be the message after the Catalan club’s shock thrashing of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Saturday. And the whole of Barcelona was in a party mood as soon as the visitors went ahead, with people cheering and applauding from terraces and from outside the overflowing bars that were screening the match, fireworks and car horns.

It’s too early to say that the league title is decided for sure, but with just 12 points available and FC Barcelona seven points ahead, that’s what many had decided and congregated on Canaletas at the top of the Ramblas for a night of celebration. Out of the four matches remaining Barça needs one win and two draws to take the title, something that looks well within their capabilities.

But not only does it put Barça in the right position to take the league title, it must surely be a huge boost of confidence ahead of their clash against Chelsea on Wednesday. While Chelsea must have been happy with their 3-1 win against Fulham on Saturday, they must have watched the result from Madrid with horror as Barcelona overcame the psychological disadvantage of playing away against one of their biggest rivals and annihilated their hopes; after Real Madrid, Chelsea surely qualify as their bitterest rival and if they can pull of the same stunt on Wednesday then the Champions League title looks like it is in the bag too.

However, there is more work ahead for Barcelona and the show ain’t over until the fat lady sings, so watch this space.

1-0 Higuaín (min 13)
1-1 Henry (min 17)
1-2 Puyol (min 20)
1-3 Messi (min 35)
2-3 Ramos (min 55)
2-4 Henry (min 58)
2-5 Messi (min 73)
2-6 Piqué (min 82)

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	34	27	4	3	100	28	85
2	Real Madrid	34	25	3	6	79	41	78
3	Sevilla	34	18	6	10	48	38	60
4	Valencia	33	16	8	9	62	47	56
5	Villarreal	34	15	10	9	49	46	55
6	At. Madrid	33	15	7	11	67	54	52
7	Malaga	34	14	9	11	52	53	51
8	Deportivo	33	14	8	11	43	43	50
9	Mallorca	33	11	9	13	43	51	42
10	Valladolid	33	12	5	16	42	51	41
11	Almeria	33	11	7	15	40	52	40
12	Athletic	33	11	7	15	44	54	40
13	Santander	33	10	9	14	44	42	39
14	Betis	33	9	10	14	47	53	37
15	Osasuna	33	8	12	13	37	41	36
16	Espanyol	33	8	11	14	34	46	35
17	Getafe	33	8	10	15	43	52	34
18	Gijon	33	11	0	22	39	72	33
19	Numancia	34	9	4	21	37	66	31
20	Huelva	33	7	9	17	30	50	30