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Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts

Football: Alex Song and Gerard Pique fighting?


Barcelona stars Gerard Pique and Alex Song appear to have been scrapping while on top of the team's double-decker bus to celebrate their La Liga triumph.
                                           Gerard Pique (right) and Alex Song seem to be fighting on top of the Barcelona bus


In these astonishing pictures, former Arsenal midfielder Song and Pique seem to be fighting while the bus makes its way around the Catalan city. 

Club captain Carles Puyol and goalkeeper Victor Valdes look to be playing peacemakers in the end, but appear to be having a heated discussion of their own in the background as their team-mates grapple in front of celebrating supporters.
                                                             Song seems to land a slap on Pique's cheek during the scuffle


Sports: Real Madrid overhaul Manchester United as world's most valuable team

The nine-times European champions Real Madrid have ended Manchester United's run as the world's most valuable football team, according to an annual survey released by Forbes on Wednesday.

The value of Real surged 76% to $3.3bn (£2.17bn) from a year ago, Forbes said in a statement.United, who have won the English title a record 19 times and are controlled by the American Glazer family, rose 42% to $3.2bn but dropped to second on the list for the first time since Forbes began tracking football finances in 2004.

Real's Spanish rivals Barcelona ($2.6bn), Arsenal ($1.33bn) and the German side Bayern Munich ($1.31bn) completed the top five.The top 20 football teams are worth an average of $968m, an increase of 26% on last year, Forbes said.

UEFA DRAW: Bayern, Barcelona, Dortmund ETC

Spanish and German teams were kept apart for the semi-finals of the Champions League, as European football’s governing body UEFA made the draw for this year’s last four games.

In the champions league nine time champions Real Madrid take 1997 winners Borrissia Dortmund for a place in the final while Catalan giants Barcelona square off against last year’s losing finalist Bayern Munich.

The games will be played on April 23rd and 24th while the second leg takes place on April the 30th.While in the Europa league Chelsea will keep a date with Swiss side FC Basel and Turkish club Fernabache will be locking horns with Portuguese powerhouse Benfica.

The matches will be played on April the 25th while the second leg comes up on April the 2nd. This year’s UEFA Champions league final will be held at Wembley stadium in London on May 25.

Lionel Messi comes on to inspire Barcelona and eliminate PSG

Leo Messi came off the bench to play a key role as Barcelona edged into the semi-finals of the Champions League and maintained their hopes of winning a third European Cup at Wembley, helping to create the equaliser which sent the Catalans through on away goals.

Barcelona had hoped not to need him but Javier Pastore's strike forced their hand and, although they progressed to a unique sixth consecutive semi-final, this was not the way they would have wanted it.The sense of vulnerability was palpable throughout a game in which they were never safe and improvements must be made if they are to reach a third final in five years. Barcelona were unable to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the two clashes and there may yet be a price to pay: Messi was called upon ahead of time and he finished the game limping slightly, while the converted centre-back Adriano was taken off with cramp. Another defender injured. Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol may not return until the final weeks of the season.

Messi started on the bench, with Cesc Fábregas taking his place as the false No9 alongside Pedro and David Villa in the front three. For Fábregas, it is the position in which he probably feels most comfortable. In his last match there, four days ago, he had scored the first hat-trick of his career. In the opening minutes, it appeared that the alternative could be an effective one here too, with a flurry of approaches, but the momentum soon drained away and this was not his night.

Barcelona lacked the speed of passing that has characterised them in recent years; even Sergio Busquets, arguably their second most consistent performer this season, appeared off the pace. Until Messi came on, the home side looked like they lacked confidence and the final whistle was greeted with relief. The best chances fell PSG's way and Barcelona had only one more shot on target than the visitors. But, when they needed him, they had Messi. The problem really was that they did need him.

Football: PSG given hope in Champions League tie with Barcelona

It was the final kick of the match when Blaise Matuidi gave Paris Saint-Germain the encouragement to believe this tie may not be over. His shot took a slight yet decisive deflection off the nearest defender and Victor Valdés in Barcelona's goal could not improvise quickly enough to stop it squirming over the line. The drama had been unremitting in the final stages and the last act came so late there was not even time for the match to kick off again.

For Barcelona, they will also have to consider the possibility that Lionel Messi will not take any part at Camp Nou on Wednesday next week because of the hamstring problem that cut his night short. Javier Mascherano will definitely be missing after one booking too many, though damaged knee ligaments would have ruled him out anyway.Messi, even on a night when he lasted only the first half, still made a significant contribution, scoring the opening goal after a sublime pass from Dani Alves, the game's outstanding performer.Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalised in the 79th minute, albeit from an offside position, but Carlo Ancelotti's side almost contrived to throw it away when their goalkeeper, Salvatore Sirigu, brought down Alexis Sánchez to give Xavi the chance to restore the lead from the penalty spot.

Barcelona should still be regarded as the favourites but any sense of satisfaction has to be tempered by the knowledge that Xavi Hernández's penalty to make it 2-1 had come in the 89th minute of normal time. From that position a side of this refinement will consider it wasteful not to have finished the job.

The match ended 2-2 at the Parc des Princes, Paris

Record breaker: Lionel Messi scores in record 19th consecutive Barcelona game

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi became the first player in Spanish football history to score against every other team in La Liga consecutively.

The four-time world player of the year registered for the 19th game in a row as Barca drew 2-2 at Celta Vigo

Messi has scored 29 goals in the streak and his tally in all competitions this season now stands at 56.

Barca are top of the table, 13 points clear of Real Madrid, who are second, with nine games left to play.

I cannot wait to hear of the next record.

Champions League quarter-final draw: Barcelona to play Beckham's PSG

Madrid and Barcelona could still meet in the European Cup final for the first time in their history after the quarter-final draw kept the two Spanish giants apart and saw them avoid the German and Italian league leaders, Bayern Munich and Juventus, who will play each other in the tie of the round. They also missed out on facing Málaga, meaning that Spain could yet have three representatives in the semi-finals.

Certainly Spain's big two will be confident of reaching the last four, the draw for which, unlike in recent years, has not yet been made.There was also an unexpected match-up that emerged from the draw when Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director Leonardo asked his girlfriend, TV presenter Anna Billo, to marry him while giving his reaction to the draw that saw his team face Barcelona. From a the SKY Italia studio in Rome, Billo did not give an answer on air. Instead she told Leonardo, connected by satellite, that they would speak at home.

As well as Barcelona facing PSG, Madrid will play Galatasaray, while Málaga face Borussia Dortmund.PSG and Galatasaray were the sides that most Spanish teams wanted, although Madrid's assistant coach, Aitor Karanka, insisted "if we think that Galatasaray will be easy we are making a big mistake" and Barcelona's sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, called PSG a team of "great talent".There was, though, satisfaction at the Bernabeu and in Nyon, where Real's sporting director, Miguel Pardeza, greeted the draw with a smile. The draw will reunite Galatasaray's Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder with José Mourinho; Sneijder will face his former club for the first time since departing in 2009.

Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona, although he will miss the first leg through suspension.Madrid and Barcelona's opponents were less confident. Galatasaray's vice-president, Ali Durust, said: "Once you're in the quarter-finals all teams are strong but Real Madrid are above all teams. If you raise your targets high, then you need to rise to the challenge of such teams." Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain's sporting director, Leonardo, called Barcelona "the best side in the competition, not just for what they did last week [against Milan] but for what they have done over the last few years."For Málaga it was a different matter. Their coach Manuel Pellegrini has become the first to take two Champions league debutants into the quarter-finals. Now he will try to match his feat at Villarreal in 2006, when they reached the semi-final against Arsenal. Málaga had expressed a desire to avoid the Spanish teams, with their winger Joaquín insisting that playing a side from their own country would take some of the shine off being in the advanced stages of a European competition.That desire was met but they would have preferred to avoid Jürgen Klopp's impressive Borussia Dortmund side. "The way that Málaga knocked out Porto shows that they have quality," Klopp said. The coach also described them as the "surprises" of the tournament so far. But the sporting director, Michael Zorc, admitted: "We're satisfied with the draw: we're not complaining."The stand-out tie brings together Juventus and Bayern Munich.

The Juventus director Pavel Nedved said: "Bayern are one of the most difficult sides we could have got. I think Bayern are very similar to our team so this will make everything even more difficult for us."Jupp Heynckes, the Bayern coach, said: "I know Juventus very well. I have seen them a lot over the last two years. They are the best team in Italy at the moment and they have a great stadium. They are a very strong team tactically, defensively and offensively. I'm sure they will be two great football matches." The Bayern chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, admitted: "This was not the draw we dreamed of. Statistically, we do not have a good record against Juventus. We will need to play very well in both games.

"In the Europa League Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur all managed to avoid each other in the draw for the quarter-finals, where they will meet Rubin Kazan, Benfica and Basel respectively.

Rubin Kazan have already knocked out two Spanish sides in Atlético Madrid, the Europa League holders, and Levante. Moreover, Rubin were unbeaten in a tough group including Internazionale last autumn and, having conceded only three goals in 10 European games this season, are particularly strong defensively.Rafael Benítez will hope Chelsea can play the away leg in Moscow rather than Tatarstan. Rubin's base, the Russian republic of Tatarstan, is the furthest east of any European club left in the competition but they staged their last-16 home match against Levante at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium due to problems with their pitch. It will be re-examined by Uefa inspectors early next week when a decision will be made about the tie's Russian venue.

Benfica arrived in the Europa League after finishing third in a Champions League group that included Barcelona and Celtic, and were able to produce a 0-0 at the Camp Nou. "I'm really pleased with the draw, it's fabulous," said Alan Pardew. "Benfica are top of the Portuguese League and have a fantastic history but playing the second leg at home gives us a slight advantage. My feeling is that I have a side that can beat anybody."On paper at least, André Villas-Boas's Spurs face the easiest of the three ties. Basel scraped into the quarter-finals only after Russia's Zenit St Petersburg missed a late penalty on Thursday night but Murat Yakin, the Swiss team's coach, seems undaunted by the prospect of facing Gareth Bale and friends. "We're extremely excited," said Yakin. "Tottenham Hotspur are a great team from a wonderful city and we have nothing to lose."

Full Champions League quarter-final draw

Málaga v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Galatasaray
Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Juventus