FC Barcelona News
UEFA Super Cup goes to Barça
August 29th, 2009Shakhtar Donetsk proved to be a worthy opponent for Barça last night in the UEFA Super Cup, with the only goal of the match scored in extra time.
Although the first half saw the two teams fairly evenly matched, by the second half Barcelona was clearly dominating. However, although they controlled the ball for much of the time, Shakhtar’s defence proved to be
impenetrable and however many attacks Barça made on the goal, they failed to get through and at the end of 90 minutes the result remained 0-0.
Barcelona continued to dominate in extra time, but by the end of the first 15 minutes the match remained goal-less and with just 5 minutes of the match remaining it was starting to look as if the game would end in
penalties.
However, a pass from Messi to Pedro in the 115th minute resulted in the result Barça had been looking for, with Pedro being hailed as the hero of the match.
Make sure you don’t miss out on Barça at the Nou Camp – reserve your Barcelona tickets online for La Liga and Champions League matches.
FC Barcelona notches up another trophy
August 24th, 2009Sunday night’s 3-0 defeat of Athletic de Bilbao gave Barça a 5-1 win on aggregate and meant that they pocketed the Spanish Supercup in spectacular fashion.
However, while Barcelona clearly dominated the match, it seemed to take a while for the team to really get into its stride. When it finally happened – after the break – things really started to happen, with Messi scoring the first goal and taking the trophy one step closer to being won.
Barça kept up the pressure, with some spectacular football taking place in front of a packed Nou Camp. And when Messi was brought down in the penalty area he was able to capitalise again, with his second goal in the 67th minute.
Still the pace kept up and five minutes later it was the turn of Bojan to score – he collected the ball, took it past the keeper and then teasingly stopped it inches from the line before tapping it over.
Some great football in what looks like it will be another stunning season for Barcelona.
1-0, Messi (min 49)
2-0, Messi (pen, min 67)
3-0, Bojan (min 72)
Man City wins Gamper
August 20th, 2009Manchester City became the first British team ever to win the Gamper Trophy, FC Barcelona’s annual invitation match played aginst some of the world’s best known teams. It also marked the firsdt time in the tornament’s history that Barça has failed to score.
Before kickoff team coach Pep Guardiola introduced the new look teal to the public, in a stadium that was close to full – more that 94,000 spectators packed the stands.
The match was the Nou Camp debut of Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is currently recovering from a hand injury and was substituted by Lionel Messi.
To celebrate the triple – Copa, Liga, Campions – Barça played in a specially designed strip with a distinctively retro 1970s look. The top was blue, with three vertical stripes up the centre broken by the word “mes” – as in “more than a club” – with red shorts.
The first half was filled with Barça B team players, who allowed Martin Petrov score. However, the second half really saw Barça playing well, dominating possession and attacking the goal. However, the failed to make the most of this advantage and were unable to find the net thanks to Manchester City’s defence and keeper Shay Given.
The next match is the second leg of the Spanish Supercup on Sunday 23rd August. See the homepage for price and availability of Barcelona tickets for all matches.
Barça take round 1 of the Supercup
August 17th, 2009Barcelona go through to the second round of the Spanish Supercup with the advantage, after beating Athletic de Bilbao 2-1 last night. In fact it was the first real football Barça has played since the end of last season, despite the show matches played in England and the United States – while they may serve as a gentle warm up they hardly qualify as football par excellence.
Both teams got stuck in from the start and despite some close calls for Barcelona, it was Athletic who struck home first, with de Marcos scoring a minute before the end of the first half.
However, Barça kept at it and when Pedro crossed to Xavi in minute 58 the resuslt was an equaliser. Ten minute later it was the turn of one of the stars of the summer, Pedro, who put the final goal of the match in the back of the net.
The Supercup looks clearly within Barça’s grasp and providing there are no slip ups next Sunday at the Nou Camp it looks like they’ll take another trophy.
1-0, De Marcos (min 44)
1-1, Xavi (min 58)
1-2, Pedro (min 68)
US Tour – draw against Chivas
August 9th, 2009Barcelona’s final match of the US tour was overshadowed by the sudden death of Dani Jarque, captain of RCD Espanyol from a heart attack after a training session in Italy. While there is strong rivalry between the clubs, the death of a fellow player came as a shock to members of the Barça squad.
The first goal of the match was scored by Chivas after a goalless first half, when Morales put the ball in the back of the net. Barça continued to push though, with both Bojan and Alves coming close to scoring; in the end it was Bojan who equalised for Barcelona in the 63rd minute of a an Alves cross.
Following the US tour, FC Barcelona heads back home – on Sunday they play the first leg of the Spanish Supercup away at Athletic de Bilbao; Wednesday 19th they play Manchester City in the Gamper Trophy; and the following Sunday they host the second leg of the Spanish Supercup.
1-0 Morales (m. 49)
1-1 Bojan (m. 63)
See the homepage for current availability of Barcelona tickets – five categories including VIP Gold and Silver for matches at the Nou Camp.
US Tour – Barça thrashes Seattle Sounders
August 6th, 2009Barcelona stepped up the pace from their victory against LA Galaxy, when they beat Seattle Sounders last night.
Barça’s 4-0 voctory saw goals from Messi (mins 20 and 41), Jeffren (75) and Pedro (89) in a side that seems to be starting to gel in their pre-season, swamping Seattle’s efforts and dominating as they had done throughout the 08/09 season.
0-1 Messi (20’)
0-2 Messi (41’)
0-3 Jeffren (75’)
0-4 Pedro (89’)
US Tour – Barça beats Beckham
August 2nd, 2009FC Barcelona’s first match of their US tour took place last night against LA Galaxy at the Rosebowl, in front of a 94,000 crowd – the largest since the US World Cup in 1994.
Barça’s two goals came from newcomers Pedro and Jeffren, the first in minute 11. But Barcelona didn’t have it all their own way, with David Beckham scoring an equaliser just before half time. However, Barça’s second and deciding goal came the 66th minute.
Goals
0-1 Pedro (min 11)
1-1 Beckham (min 44)
1-2 Jeffren (min 66)
Check out the homepage for details of forthcoming matches at the Nou Camp and order your Barcelona tickets online.
Victory at Wembley for Barcelona
July 27th, 2009Barcelona played their second match at Wembley Stadium last night and notched up their first win of the pre-season.
This time they faced Egyptian Champions, Al-Ahly, in a game they eventually dominated. At first the teams were evenly matched, with Bojan scoring the first goal for Barça in the 15th minute and El Agizy equalising for Al-Ahly in minute 30. Rueda then scored in the 41st minute to put Barcelona in the lead ahead of the break.
With the team completely changed for the second half, Barça started to dominate the second 45 minutes, with Messi and Valdes on the pitch. The result was a goal from Jeffren in minute 55 from Messi and Pedro to make it 3-1; and the final goal came from Pedro, off Gudjohnsen, in minute 66.
0-1, Bojan (min 15)
1-1, El Agizy (min 30)
1-2, Rueda (min 41)
1-3, Jeffren (min 55)
1-4, Pedro (min 66)
Keep an eye on the homepage for forthcoming match details and buy your Barcelona FC tickets online. Next stop for Barça is the United States, where they play three matches including against LA Galaxy next Saturday.
Barça kicks off pre-season 2009
July 25th, 2009Last night Barça played their first match of the pre-season, with an appearance at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur.
With Spurs having won all their previous three pre-season encounters, it was never going to be a walkover for Barcelona, but instead of a display of two teams at the top of their game, what emerged was a rather dreary game of uninspired football, which was somewhat enlivened in minute 32 when Bojan scored. Spurs immediately began the counterattack, with two close attempts on goal – the first was deflected by the cross bar, while Jorquera just got his fingertips to the second.
11 substitutions were made at half time, allowing all 22 members of the squad a chance to play, many of them for their first time in the main squad. After the break the game continued much as before until Livermore scored an equaliser for Spurs in minute 82.
All in all, pretty unexciting, but as the first of Barça’s pre-season matches, about what could be expected.
For details of Barcelona’s 2009/10 La Liga fixtures and the chance to reserve Barcelona tickets online see the homepage.
Barcelona ends season on 87 points
June 1st, 2009Barcelona 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 |
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