FC Barcelona 2 - 0 Manchester U.

ETO'O(10)
MESSI(70)

CAMPIONI D'EUROPA

Tags: 08/09, Andres Iniesta, Bojan Krkic Pérez, Carles Puyol, coppe, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola, presidente, Samuel Eto'o, squadra, Thierry Henry, Tourè Yaya, V.Valdès, Xavi

Real Madrid 2 - 6 FC Barcelona
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)










Il Barcellona ha fatto 100
Sei gol al Real per fare cifra tonda


Per raggiungere un obiettivo che già era nell'aria da tempo, il Barcellona ha dovuto esagerare. Stravincere, per essere chiari, sul campo del Real, umiliando la rivale di sempre al Bernabeu. Fatto sta che, grazie alle sei reti di Madrid, Messi e compagni hanno tagliato il traguardo dei cento gol in campionato. Cento in trentaquattro gare, in pratica tre a partita, una cosa pazzesca, per dirla come in realtà è. E lo scudetto ora è a un passo.

Poi, certo, con quei tre là davanti sembra facile. Facile, prevedibile, immaginabile, non era invece lo show di Madrid. Roba da levarsi il cappello. Comprensibile, di qui, che Guardiola abbia definito la notte del Bernabeu una "delle più belle della mia vita". E comprensibile, ovviamente, anche la festa folle di Barcellona, con i culé tutti in piazza per abbracciare gli eroi blaugrana. I campioni, per dirla come loro: "¡Sí, sí, sí... los campeones ya están aquí!". I campioni sono qui.

Non resta, dunque, che far scattare il countdown e concentrarsi, magari, su bersagli più grossi. Strana la vita: fino a sabato sera il Barcellona dei miracoli rischiava perfino di perdere tutto. Ora il divario sottile tra vittoria e sconfitta si è spostato dalla parte buona. La Liga è solo da archiviare. La Champions va ancora conquistata, ma resta possibile. Resta lì, solo da prendere. Un gol dopo l'alt...

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Tags: 08/09, Andres Iniesta, Bojan Krkic Pérez, Carles Puyol, Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola, Samuel Eto'o, squadra, Thierry Henry, V.Valdès, Xavi

Far from having doubts following recent results, the Barça manager is full of confidence in his team. He says his players “have a lot of love for what they are doing and are playing well”.

“We are fine”. That is how clear Josep Guardiola was when asked how the team felt after three games without a win. Following Barça’s amazing run, where they went 22 games without losing, the manager still says “I believe a lot in this team and I will believe in them till the end because I see them every day in training … despite the bad results you won’t convince me to think otherwise about my team”.

Abel Resino’s Atlético


This Sunday they face Atlético for the fourth time this season. Guardiola said “we know each other well, but now they have a new manager”. Abel Resino is the new face on the bench at Atlético Madrid and “he has introduced new things” said the Barça manager.

Guardiola has not forgotten that “we’re playing one of the big teams in the league. They have great players and play very attacking football.” And all of that “in a marvellous stadium full of people and that helps them a lot”.

Dealing with fouls

Josep Guardiola has faced a lot of teams recently that have cut down their game with excessive foul play. On that he said “it’s not good for us when games are held up. When that happens we have to stay cool and not fall into their trap … that’s what the referee is there for and it is him who has to stop it”.

Conclusions after Olympique


After drawing in Lyon, Josep Guardiola said he drew many conclusions from the game. He said today that “when they make more mistakes than usual, you can draw conclusions. Football is never a done deal and there are always new things we have to correct”.

No pressure

Guardiola denied that the lack of wins has increased the pressure on his team to deliver. “The team has a lot of love for what they are doing and are playing well”. He admitted that against Olympique they did lose their calm at times, but “generally speaking we are a well behaved team and you’ll see that again tomorrow”.

Meeting with full backs


Before training on Friday, Guardiola called a special meeting with his full backs. He explained that “I highlighted the good things that the full backs have done until now”.

Tags: 08/09, Pep Guardiola, squadra

io per ora non voto

Tags: 08/09, passato, Pep Guardiola, sondaggi

The Barça manager has drawn in conclusions from tonight’s match at Olympique Lyon, and feels his side lost control of the ball in the first half: “It is the game from which I can draw the most conclusions for the future” he observed.

Josep Guardiola was convinced enough that a 1-1 draw can go down as a good result, and they had achieved the most important thing, which was “to score an away goal”.

Conclusions

But he also admitted that had seen a lot of things tonight “from which I can draw conclusions for the future.” He said that especially after what he had seen in the first half, he had “some clear things” to say to the players. “If they understand, we’ll be fighting for everything” he added.

Disorder in first half


He was not impressed at all to witness the lack of order in the way his players dealt with the first 45 minutes. “We were very wide apart and left them space to come through the middle”, and for that reason, he considered they had often been simply outplayed.

But ”we had a much better second half” he added, suggesting his team-talk during the break had served to right several wrongs.

Playing the maximum

This is the second phase of the Champions League, and Guardiola felt obliged to remind listeners that “all these games are hard and evenly matched. They are all very good teams and if you don’t play your best, then they’ll create problems for you”.

Márquez, 16 balls won

Guardiola wished to single out Rafa Márquez, who recovered no fewer than 16 balls. “He is an extraordinary player. In games like these his quality improves considerably”.

In defence of Valdés

The Barça manager refused to accept that Juninho’s goal was the result of a Víctor Valdés error. “It was a brilliant goal and not even seven goalkeepers would have stopped it” he said.

Tags: 08/09, Pep Guardiola, squadra

After the first six months of the season, FC Barcelona have announced that they have made a net profit of nearly €16 million.

Since July 2008, when the economic balance for last year was concluded, until December, Barça have shown a profit of €15.9 million, a rise of 28.2 per cent on the previous season.

The Blaugrana vice-president, Joan Boix, the director of the economic department, Josep Anton Colomer, and the corporate general director, Joan Oliver, presented the figures and explained how they were reached.

Book keeping

During this six-month period, Barça have had an income of €186 million, while expenditure has been €164.1 million, which leaves a profit of €21.9 million. When financial expenses, totalling €6 million, is subtracted the net result is €15.9 million.

More than last year


Compared to the same period during the 2007-08 campaign, this year has seen a 12.4 per cent rise in income. That is thanks, in part, to the new audiovisual contract, that will see the club earn between €115 and €150 million, income from playing in the Champions League, a new deal with Nike and the acquisition of the right of the Botiga del Barça.

Nike negotiations

During the press conference it was announced that the club is working on a new contract with Nike. The current economic situation has mean that the club wants to redefine the rolls over the management of the Barça club shops. It is area that has not been a priority for the Barcelona until now, but as Joan Oliver explained they want to return to the initial situation where Nike manages the operation “but with more favourable and different conditions for Barça”.

Expenses have risen by ten per cent in the first half of the season partly because the cost of restructuring the playing squad, the investment in work on the Ciudad Deportiva sports complex and the expenses of the Barça shop.

Major League Soccer

FC Barcelona quest to have a presence in the Major League Soccer (MLS) with a new franchise is “very delicate and we are evaluating if the situation allows for the planned to implemented in Miami or not,” said Oliver. The corporate director general stated that the club could always bid to enter the MLS when “there was not financial risk to the club.”

Stadium figures


Income from the stadium went down 3.2 per cent compared to last year and Boix explained that the main reason for that was that the figures “from the low attendance for the Gamper game”, Boix said. That match, in which every seat was on sale, was effected by the fact that Pep Guardiola’s side ...

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Tags: 08/09, calcio mercato, passato, Pep Guardiola, presidente, stadio