October 2008 - Posts

• Guardiola asks for 100 per cent against Benidorm

  Barcelona play Benidorm in the Copa del Rey and coach Pep Guardiola says it is a rival that the players should take seriously even though they come from the lower divisions. "We have put a lot of importance into winning the competition and I have a lot of belief in the players but we will be playing against a team that although appears to be weaker it plays direct football and with a strict strategy," said Guardiola. The team are in a rich vein of form at the moment as was shown with the 5-0 demolition of Almeria at the weekend and it has led to a lot of praise from the media, but Guardiola is wary of it going to the players' heads. "The team at the moment has a lot of confidence but I wish that people did not put so much praise on the players," he said. "I feel though that I have been well treated and my success is down to that of the players. I am in a good position because I am in a good team but there are a lot of better coaches than me, the coaches who have taught me." Guardiola will be without Thierry Henry against Benidorm due to a abdominal strain Posted Oct 28 2008, 04:19 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)

• Barcelona youth take centre stage in Basle victory

  Barca cruised to a 5-0 win over Basle to put them as clear favourites to finish first in their Champions League group and all the goals came from their blossoming home grown talent. Coach Pep Guardiola has followed in the footsteps of Frank Rijkaard to encourage youth players by bringing many of those players who he worked with last season in Barca B into the first eam, and it is reaping reward. Against Basle it was Sergio Busquets who took centre stage with a fine performance capped by a well-taken goal, but also Messi put in a fine display along with Bojan, returning to the team and he grabbed a brace. It was Messi's 50th goal for Barcelona, a fine left-footed finish after four minutes, cementing claims that he should win the Balon D'Or this year, but for Barcelona it was also very important to see that the team is no longer as dependent as it was last season on the Argentine. This was no better demonstrated than by the performance of Boyan who has often been overlooked by Guardiola but surely he is worth his place in the team. Posted Oct 23 2008, 06:00 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)

• Laporta praises attitude of Guardiola

  Barca president Joan Laporta is confident the team will continue their good run away at Athletic Bilbao at the weekend and feels that Guardiola's humility should be held as a shining example. "It is now a moment to press forward and to realise that we have to work hard now in order to enjoy success later, now we should work with patience and humility, we should be clear about that. I would like to see us continuing the way we have been playing in recent weeks," said Laporta. "I have a lot of belief in the team of Guardiola but we have now to push on." Players have been returning from international duty this week and so Guardiola has been unable to work as much as he would have liked with the team. Gudjohnsen has returned injured and will be unable to play while Messi is available although tired after his trip to South America. Posted Oct 17 2008, 08:16 AM by Tim with 2 comment(s)

• Just six players available for training

  Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has only been able to work with six players at the start of this week with so many of the first team away on international duty. Victor Valdes, Pinto, Jorquera, Victor Sanchez, Sylvinho and Hleb have been the only players available to the coach although the rest will return during the week to prepare for the away game at Athletic Bilbao at the weekend. Hleb is once again fit to play after he picked up an injury early in the season against Racing Santander. He has been able to train fully with his Barca team-mates. Posted Oct 14 2008, 09:25 AM by Tim with 2 comment(s)

• Alves ready to return after leg injury

  Barcelona defender Dani Alves has recovered from a thigh strain which kept him out of the side which destroyed Atletico Madrid 6-1 at the weekend and is included in the Brazil squad which will face Venezuela and Colombia in World Cup qualification matches. Alves has been a regular at right-back this season since the departure of Zambrotta to Juventus although he is yet to reach the level which he produced at Sevilla which attracted the interest of the top teams in the world. Defensively he has been caught out and in attack he still needs to grow in confidence as he has been guilty of giving the ball away cheaply. The downside from the victory over Atletico was the poor image which Samuel Eto'o gave when he was substituted, reacting angrily to the decision by Guardiola. After the game the coach said that Eto'o was not happy about being taken off but it was Guardiola's decision and Eto'o has to live with it. This is another example of the disruptive influence that Eto'o has had at Barcelona as although he is an amazing striker he has regularly caused problems with players and coaches especially with Ronaldinho and Rijkaard. Posted Oct 09 2008, 03:01 AM by Tim with 1 comment(s)