He is Barca’s biggest signing of the summer so far with Samuel Eto’o heading in the other direction. The news is that as well as Samuel Eto’o and 40 million Euros, subject to personal terms Alexander Hleb is going to Italy too.

The next shirt you will see Ibrahimovic wearing will be a Barcelona one

That is some serious negotiations by Jose Mourinho & Massimo Moratti for Inter Milan and I can’t help but think that Inter Milan have the better of the deal. But if Eto’o was upsetting the dressing room and especially Pep at the Nou Camp, then he had to go and Ibrahimovic is a pretty good replacement, who knows where the goal is. Lets hope he can perform on the European stage, which I think he is yet to do so far.

However, as one of the most attractive footballing sides in the world, Barcelona are sure to have players linked to the club no matter how absurd some may be. Here, I will try to distinguish between the facts and the fiction.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Inter hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been heavily linked with a swap deal to Barcelona with Samuel Eto’o going in the other direction. Ibrahimovic has a prolific scoring record in Italy with 57 goals in 88 games yet has failed to convince a vast proportion of the media around Europe that he can perform on the biggest stage. However, the Swede has already spoken publicly at his interest in a move to the Nou Camp despite Inter president Massimo Moratti slapping a 76 million euro price tag on him. The Lure of Eto’o to the San Siro may persuade Inter to sell so don’t be surprised if both of the strikers are wearing opposite shirts come September. HOW LIKELY – 6/10

Franck Ribery

Bayern Munich creative midfielder Franck Ribery is looking more and more likely that he won’t be playing in the Bundesliga next season. However, what country the French star will be in next season is much harder to predict after Manchester United are aiming to make him Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement, Inter and AC Milan wish to welcome him to the San Siro whilst Real Madrid and Barcelona are aiming to break the bank to place him in their respective kits. However, the two Italian options seem least likely whilst Ribery has publicly stated that he isn’t fond of the English continent. This leaves a battle between Madrid and Barcelona for the widely acclaimed player. You would think that Barcelona would be the more attractive proposal considering they currently have a treble winning squad. However, money talks very loudly in football today so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ribery playing at the Bernabeu next season. HOW LIKELY – 7/10

Karim Benzema

Lyon striker Karim Benzema has been linked with pretty much every top club in Europe since he burst on the scene for club and country several years ago. With all the money flying about at the moment, it’s hardly a surprise that his name is once again being linked with Barcelona. Considering Samuel Eto’o may depart this summer, Benzema may very well be a possibility to lead the line at the Nou Camp. However, realistically Benzema is likely to depart Lyon next summer after the 2010 World Cup so perhaps other striking options will be pursued this summer? HOW LIKELY – 4/10

Yuri Zhirkov

CSKA Moscow rampaging full back Yuri Zhirkov has publicly stated his desire to move to Barcelona. However, the major stumbling block is that the Spaniards haven’t yet shown any real public interest in signing him. It’s no secret that Barcelona need a new full back after releasing the aging Sylvinho. Whether or not, Zhirkov is the man the choose to fill that position is a different matter. HOW LIKELY – 5/10

David Villa

After weeks of looking like he was destined for Real Madrid, it seems as if David Villa will not be moving to the Bernabeu after all as Valencia have rejected a flurry of Madrid offers. This leaves what seems to be a straight fight between Barcelona and Manchester United. Although reports have claimed that United would be willing to break the british transfer fee to sign Villa, it’s questionable whether or not the striker would be willing to move to England. With Samuel Eto’o seemingly on his way out of the Nou Camp, Villa would give the champions a different dimension in attack and would surely only become more prolific than he already is alongside the likes of Messi and Henry. HOW LIKELY – 8/10

Sebastien Frey

With contract talks with Victor Valdes rapidly breaking down, reports have suggested that Barcelona have turned to experienced Florentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey. The Catalans are reportedly ready to offer big money for Frey and may use centre back Rafael Marquez as bait for the deal. However, Frey’s contract with Florentina runs until 2013 although the lure of guaranteed Champions League football may be a significant factor in persuading Frey to the Nou Camp. HOW LIKELY – 7/10

The less likely?

Javier Mascherano – Liverpool anchorman Javier Mascherano has been linked with a move to the spanish giants after news of the merseyside club’s debts became public knowledge. However, manager Rafa Benetiz has stated on more than one occasion that Mascherano will not be sold.

Cesc Fabregas – The Arsenal playmaker and club captain has firmly committed himself to the club but once again has told of his desire to play under his idol Pep Guardiola at some stage of his career. Although it’s unlikely Fabregas would leave at the moment, if an offer came in from Barcelona, who’s to predict where Fabregas will be playing in September.

David Trezeguet – After nearly ten years at Juventus, it looks as if Trezuguet will be off in the summer after relationships have broken down between him and the club. A whole host of clubs have been reported to have shown an interest but perhaps the Nou Camp would be an ideal destination if Samuel Eto’o was to depart.

Yossi Benayoun – Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun is possibly the most surprising player to be linked with Barcelona this summer. Not even guaranteed a starting place at Liverpool, it comes as some surprise that the Champions League winners would see Benayoun as an option to replace an already near perfect midfield trio. Nevertheless, stranger things have happened and maybe Benayoun’s quick playmaker style would suit La Liga?

Robinho – Although the Brazilian has stated his desire to stay at Manchester City for the forthcoming future, this could very well be just to keep the press off of his back. Robinho has made no secret of the fact he would be interested if Pep Guardiola requested his services. Whether or not Guardiola would want to take a risk on a potentially bad influence remains to be seen though.

On their way out?

Samuel Eto’o – The Barca hitman looks to be on his way to either Italy or England with Inter Milan his most likely destination.

Bojan Krakic – The young sensation has been linked with various clubs on loan for next season. Many rumours have gone about suggesting he may be involved in a swap deal with David Villa which would allow Valencia another season with a top class striker.

Victor Valdes - Recent reports have suggested that the Barca keeper rejected the club’s latest contract offer after demanding to be paid on equal terms with their highest earners. Manchester United have registered possible interest as a long term replacement for Edwin Van der Sar.

Alexander Hleb – The former Arsenal midfielder has struggled with injuries since he arrived at Barcelona and has seen the midfield dominated by Yaya Toure, Andreas Iniesta and Xavi. There are no immediate plans for him to leave but Hleb himself stated he may have to move to find first team football. If a decent offer is put forward, Barca may be tempted to sell.

Rafael Marquez - The Mexican centre back has long been on the radar of Florentina coach Cesare Prandelli and with Barcelona looking to bring new faces in, realistically they will need to offload some players to balance the books. Marquez’s salary may prove a stumbling block for Florentina but a longer contract may persuade him to move.

The line up next season?

With the rumour mill going into overdrive, it’s clear that not all of the above stated players will end up moving to the treble winners. It could even be that only one or two of the above eventually clinch a lucrative deal at Barcelona. When a squad like Barcelona has just achieved the maximum it can, there is no reason for the club to make wholesale changes just for the sake of competing on the “name” front with Real Madrid.

The most likely of the above to happen would be the transfer of David Villa from Valencia. Negoatiations seem to have broken down with Real Madrid and Villa is proven in La Liga where as other linked strikers such as Ibrahimovic and Trezuguet have not.

Nearly every team in Europe would love to have a midfield combination of Xavi and Andreas Iniesta with Yaya Toure as the rock to sit in behind them. Therefore, it seems fairly unlikely that Barcelona will need to bring in any more midfielders especially with young talent Sergio Busquets breaking through and Alexander Hleb waiting on the sidelines. However, if a transfer was to happen, then Franck Ribery would seemingly be the most likely. Ribery has stated a desire to test himself in the top league and after criticising England’s climate, it seems it will be a straight fight between Real Madrid and Barcelona for his services.

Spanish teams are renowned for their attacking football but are also known for being slightly fragile at the back. With Sylvinho having already departed and Rafael Marquez possibly on his way out, there is room for defensive cover. Barcelona have not yet been strongly linked with any defenders but Yuri Zhirkov is doing his best to get noticed by the club so perhaps a move for the full back could happen. With Sebastian Frey being linked to replace Victor Valdes, the Barcelona starting line up could potentially look like this next season.

                    FREY

ALVES–PUYOL–PIQUE–ZHIRKOV

                  TOURE

          XAVI—–INIESTA

MESSI——VILLA——RIBERY

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

Kick Off – 20.00 CET

Barcelona visit the Bernabéu on Saturday evening, 360 days since last season’s humiliating 4-1 defeat when they had to applaud Real on to the pitch in the traditional tribute to the newly-crowned league champions.

A year ago at this stage of the season, Barcelona were in third place in La Liga 14 points behind Madrid, and had also been eliminated from both the Champions League and the Spanish Cup. This coming Saturday Barca go to the Bernabéu, with a four-point lead over the hosts, still in the Champions League semi-finals and looking forward to the Spanish Cup Final.

With just five games to go and only four points separating the two sides, Madrid will be looking to take advantage of Barcelona’s midweek exertions and move to within a point of first place. This has all the ingredients to be a thrilling match, a match that Madrid simply cannot afford to lose. Since their 2-0 defeat at Camp Nou last December, Madrid have gone 18 league matches unbeaten, winning 17 of them, and had it not been for a 1-1 draw with their city rivals Atletico Madrid it would have been an unprecedented 18 straight league wins.

While defeat is out of the question for Madrid, the Barca camp appear to be split between which game is more important: Madrid or Chelsea. The true-blue Catalans like Carles Puyol and Xavi will most likely place their fierce domestic rivals as enemy number one, but there are others, Lionel Messi included, who told the Spanish press “I would rather beat Chelsea because if the worst happens and we lose in Madrid, then we will stay top, whereas losing in London would see us crash out of the competition,” who  would prefer to focus on beating Guus Hiddink’s side next Wednesday. That said they will be looking for some revenge for the humiliation they were put through last year when  losing 4-1, in what was one of their heaviest El Clasico defeats this decade.

Both teams have injury worries. Guti, who suffered an ankle sprain during Wednesday’s training and Wesley Sneider with a thigh muscle strain are definite non starters, while Arjen Robben,  who has a minor calf muscle tear,  resumed normal training with the rest of his team-mates on Thursday morning. Gabriel Heinze has recovered from his knee injury and should start, while Pepe is suspended for another nine games. Missing for Barca will be Rafa Marquez,  who suffered a knee injury in midweek against Chelsea. Thierry Henry failed to train with the squad on Wednesday after complaining of neck pains and his condition will be closely monitered before making a decision on whether he will feature. Martin Caceres and Gabriel Milito are both still injured, but other than that, Pep Guardiola should have a full-strength squad at his disposal and it will be interesting to see if he plays all his big guns. Captain Carles Puyol, who will be suspended for the return leg battle at Stamford Bridge, will almost certainly play, barring any late fitness setbacks.

With 65 league goals between them this season, Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry will soon become the most prolific attacking trio in the history of La Liga. They are just one goal away from the total scored by Real Madrid’s Luis Del Sol, Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo di Stefano in the 1960-61 season. Lionel Messi has scored four goals in his last three meetings against Los Merengues and after the brutal treatment he received back in December will be looking for some revenge by adding to his impressive tally.

Raul has scored 18 league goals this season but had only netted once in his last seven league games before scoring the third league hat-trick of his career last weekend.

FORM GUIDE

Real Madrid

Apr 26 Sevilla 2-4 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Apr 21 Real Madrid 3-2 Getafe (LA LIGA)

Apr 18 Recreativo Huelva 0-1 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Apr 12 Real Madrid 2-0 Real Valladolid (LA LIGA)

Apr 04 Malaga 0-1 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Barcelona

Apr 28 Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Apr 25 Valencia 2-2 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Apr 22 Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla (LA LIGA)

Apr 18 Getafe 0-1 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Apr 14 Bayern Munich 1-1 Barcelona (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Probable Starting XI’s

Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Metzelder, Cannavaro, Heinze, Lass, Gago, Higuain, Marcelo, Robben, Raul (c)

FC Barcelona: Victor Valdes, Dani Alves, Puyol (c), Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Keita, Busquets, Messi, Eto’o, Iniesta

]]> http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/real-madrid-v-barcelona-el-clasico-preview.html/feed 5 http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/barcelona-0-0-chelsea.html http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/barcelona-0-0-chelsea.html#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:20:16 +0000 Tomás http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/?p=342 Negative Chelsea Earn Goalless Draw

Chelsea arrived for the game with  Barcelona with Guss Hiddink ordering his team to attack the Catalan’s and go for the throat and also the promise of an explosive battle. Instead it was a negative ultra-defensive performance from the Blues as they became the first team this season to stop Barca from scoring at Camp Nou as the first leg of their Champions League semi-final ended in a goalless draw.

Barcelona skipper Carles Puyol started on the bench, with Marquez at centre-back and Eric Abidal on the left and Chelsea lined up with a  4-5-1 formation, with just Didier Drogba up front.

Barca started the more brightly and with just a minute gone Henry showed he still has pace as he went past Branislav Ivanovic and was brought down by the Chelsea defender to win the first free kick of the night. Xavi swung the ball into Samuel Eto’o at the back post and he headed back across goal where Rafael Marquez went close with the Chelsea defence in disaray, although the play had already been stopped for an infringement.

Barcelona were dominating possession with their fluid passing game without really creating anything as their play in the final third left much to be desired. With 14 minutes gone Messi went past Bosingwa like he wasn’t there and as he was about to break into the area the left back bowled him over with a crude shoulder in the back.

Barca were beginning to get into their stride now and on 26 minutes, as Messi attempted to charge into the box he was brought down by Alex, who earned the game’s first booking. With a half an hour gone it was obvious only one team was attempting to play any football as Barca had completed 233 passes to Chelsea’s 73. Tempers were starting to fray now and there were bookings for Michael Ballack and Toure Yaya, and a  feud was developing between Dani Alves and Blues’ duo Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba.

In the 38th minute a dreadful mistake by Rafael Marquez let in Drogba but a fantastic double save from Valdes in the Barca goal spared the Mexican’s blushes. Minutes later and it was Pique’s turn to gift Drogba with a chance but the striker slipped before he could shoot and the chance was gone.

Chelsea got the first chance of the second half when Malouda went past Alves and was pulled down by the full back. From the resulting free kick Ballack got a free header but headed over from eight yards.

With the second half just five minutes old and with no Chelsea player within five yards of him, Marquez went down clutching his left knee and he was replaced by Carles Puyol, who was making his 100th European appearance.

In the 67th minute Lampard brought down Iniesta and Dani Alves sent the free-kick just over the crossbar and Cech denied Eto’o with a fabulous save when the Barca striker got free of Alex for the first time in the game in the 69th minute. Two minutes later Lampard, who was having a very quiet game, was replaced by former Barca defender Juliano Belletti as Chelsea looked to protect the stalemate. 73 minutes gone and Barca were denied a stonewall penalty when Eto’o got the ball on the left-hand edge of the area and slipped it into the centre for Henry, who was just about to get a shot in when Bosingwa tugged his arm and pulled him down, however the referee unbelievably waved play on. A minute later Puyol was booked for a needless late lunge on Malouda and as a result he’s out of the second leg next Wednesday.

The referee made his second huge blunder of the night on 84 minutes when Iniesta played a one-two with Messi down the left, but before he could reach the box, he  was cynically checked by Ballack. That should  have been a second yellow for the German midfielder. Chelsea could have had no complaints had they  been losing 1-0 and down to ten men.

In the first of the five minutes of added time Alves sent over a wonderful cross from the right which was met by Krkic Bojan, who from six yards out managed to head over the bar with Cech nowhere. A minute later and it was Hleb’s turn to waste a great chance. After being sent clear down the inside-left channel, he hesitated and allowed Cech to smother his first effort at his feet, then skewed the rebound wide.

Pep Guardiola was ‘proud’ of his Barcelona players despite the 0-0 draw.

“It’s never easy to play well when the opposition is not playing football,” said Guardiola, before adding  “I am proud of my players. You can be sure we will go to London with the same attacking spirit.”

Barcelona: Victor Valdes, Gerard Pique, Rafael Marquez (Carles Puyol, 52), Xavier Hernandez Xavi, Eric Abidal, Daniel Alves, Andres Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto’o (Krkic Perez Bojan, 82), Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry (Alex Hleb, 87)

Subs Not Used: Jorquera, Gudjohnsen, Keita, Sylvinho.

Booked: Toure Yaya, Puyol.

Chelsea: Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Jose da Silva Bosingwa, Michael Essien, Rodrigo da Costa Alex, John Terry, Florent Malouda, Frank Lampard (Juliano Belletti, 71), Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack (Nicolas Anelka, 90), John Obi Mikel

Subs Not Used: Hilario, Di Santo, Kalou, Mancienne, Stoch.

Booked: Alex, Ballack.

Attendance: 95,000

]]> http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/barcelona-0-0-chelsea.html/feed 2 http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/champions-league-preview-barcelona-v-chelsea.html http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/champions-league-preview-barcelona-v-chelsea.html#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:49:03 +0000 Tomás http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/?p=317 FC Barcelona v Chelsea

UEFA Champions League

Semi-Final 1st Leg

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Kick 0ff – 20.45 CET

Barcelona welcome Chelsea to the Camp Nou tonight for the Champions League semi-final 1st leg and will be hoping to produce another performance like the quarter-final 1st leg  display against Bayern Munich, which saw the Catalan’s score four first half goals against the shell shocked Germans.

This is the first game in a crucial period in Barca’s quest for a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies with a visit to Real Madrid to look forward to next Saturday, the return leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday, an extremely tricky La Liga clash at Villareal and the Copa del Rey final three days later against Athletic Bilbao in Valencia.

This will be without a doubt Barca’s toughest test to date in the Champions League with Chelsea looking to put an end to their two-year trophyless drought in style by landing themselves a double of FA Cup and Champions League.

Without a doubt the most lethal strike force in Europe !

While many in the Camp Nou dressing room still view La Liga and this weekend’s El Clasico blockbuster with Madrid as a more important competition than the Champions League, it is Champions League glory what Chelsea are really after and it has become owner, Roman Abramovich’s personal holy grail over the past few years.

Chelsea have only lost once since Guus Hiddink took over the hot-seat in earlier this year and he has restored the team spirit and unity that was evident during  the Jose Mourinho era. After their 3-1 win at Anfield against Liverpool in the first leg of the quarter-finals, they are  full of belief that they can win just about anywhere.

Barcelona welcome back defender Rafa Marquez  from suspension but Sergio Busquets, Dani Alves and Carles Puyol will all miss the second leg if they pick up another booking. Martin Caceres and Gabriel Milito are both out injured, but the good news is that Lionel Messi, who was suffering from stomach cramps this time last week, played the full 90 minutes against Valencia at the weekend without any problems. Captain Carles Puyol, if selected will play his 100th international game for the Catalan’s.

Chelsea will be without left back Ashley Cole who is suspended and Hiddink is expected to switch Jose Bosingwa to that flank to nullify Messi’s threat. But crucially, centre-back, John Terry is back after serving out his own one-game ban and his presence will be vital as Ricardo Carvalho looks certain to miss out due to a hamstring problem while Deco is also nursing a similar ailment. Nicolas Anelka will miss the return clash if he gets another yellow card in Catalunya.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola has ordered his side to attack Chelsea in order to ensure that they take a considerable advantage to London for the second leg and with Guss Hiddink saying pretty much the same to his side spectators could well be treated to an entertaining spectacle of free-flowing football. Guardiola is fully aware of the importance of keeping a clean sheet at home but also the merits of establishing a lead that they can defend in the second leg. He told journalists at yesterdays press conference, “We must work hard from the very first minute to counteract the power of the English side”

FORM GUIDE

Barcelona

Apr 25 Valencia 2-2 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Apr 22 Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla (LA LIGA)

Apr 18 Getafe 0-1 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Apr 14 Bayern Munich 1-1 Barcelona (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Apr 11 Barcelona 2-0 Recreativo Huelva (LA LIGA)

Chelsea

Apr 25 West Ham United 0-1 Chelsea (PREMIER LEAGUE)

Apr 22 Chelsea 0-0 Everton (PREMIER LEAGUE)

Apr 18 Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea (FA CUP)

Apr 14 Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Apr 11 Chelsea 4-3 Bolton Wanderers (PREMIER LEAGUE)

Probable Starting XI’s

Barcelona: Victor Valdes, Dani Alves, Puyol (c), Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Keita, Iniesta, Messi, Eto’o, Henry

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry (c), Bosingwa, Essien, Ballack, Kalou, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba

]]> http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/champions-league-preview-barcelona-v-chelsea.html/feed 1 http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/barcelona-4-bayern-munich-0.html http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/barcelona-4-bayern-munich-0.html#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:54:19 +0000 Tomás http://barcelona.footballblog.co.uk/?p=305 Barcelona 4 Bayern Munich 0

Barcelona have one foot in the semi finals of the Champions League following a hugely impressive 4-0 victory over Bayern Munich in  the  quarter final first leg on Wednesday night.

In front of a crowd of over 93,000, Barcelona gave a masterclass in technique and attacking football and in the fifth minute a fantastic through ball by Iniesta found Henry, who went round the Bayern keeper but saw his effort cleared off the line by Demichelis.

In the 7th minute after a period of sublime Barca passing in which the Bayern defence was cut open, Messi picked up a pass from Eto’o, took one touch and curled a shot past Butt into the bottom left hand corner. Five minutes later and Messi returned the compliment, finding Eto’o who put the ball through the advancing Butt’s legs to put Barca two up.

In the 17th minute Barcelona were denied a stonewall penalty when Messi pushed the ball pass Christian Lell and when going past was tripped by the German’s outstretched leg. Howard Webb, the English referee made an absolutely disgraceful decision in booking Messi for diving.

With half an hour gone the Catalan’s were in complete control and Bayern, in complete disarray at this stage have barely had a touch, an Iniesta pass found Henry but his attempt went just wide of the right hand post.

On 36 minutes Henry, out on the left went past Oddo and sent in a cross to the edge of the six yard box, where it was met by Messi, and with three defenders round him, still manages to slide the ball past the Bayern keeper. 3-0 and Barca are cruising. Six minutes later Thiery Henry scored his 50th Champions League goal. Messi found Eto’o who in turn played the ball through to Henry on the left who fired a low drive into the bottom right hand corner.

In the second half and the game now over as a contest Barca took their foot of the pedal but still managed to create chances and pin the Germans back for long periods. In the 60th minute Christian Lell let Messi cut inside from the right touchline yet again and gave the Argentinian all the time and space he needed to pick his spot and pull the trigger, only a  marvellous save from Butt prevented Messi from notching up his hat-trick.

In a rare Bayern attack Ze Roberto was put through by Ribery and only a brilliant last ditch tackle by Carles Puyol prevented the Brazilian from scoring for the Germans.

On 74 minutes Seydou Keita replaces Thierry Henry, who having notched up his half-century of Champions League goals tonight, goes off to a well deserved standing ovation. With 78 minutes gone, Iniesta, on the left hand side of the Bayern penalty area, turns three defenders inside out, cuts inside Bastien Schweinsteiger and attempts to curl a shot into the top right-hand corner which goes just inches wide.

Both sides made changes with around 10 minutes left, Yaya Toure was replaced by Sergio Busquets and for Bayern Ze Roberto went off and Jose Ernesto Sosa came on in his place.

Messi almost nabbed his hat-trick a minute into injury time when Iniesta jogged past a throng of defenders to the by-line before clipping a cross to the middle for the Argentine, but his half-hearted shot was blocked by his own team-mate, Seydou Keita.

Rafael Marquez got a yellow card in the final minutes and this  booking will force him to sit out the return leg at the Allianz Arena next week. As for Bayern Munich,  this was their heaviest ever defeat in the Champions League and this has piled the pressure on coach Juergen Klinsmann, increasing speculation his fate may soon be sealed.

Full Time: Barcelona 4 (Messi 8, 37, Eto’o 12, Henry 42) Bayern Munich 0

Yellow Cards: Messi 17, Lell 48, Demichelis 56, Marquez 90

Attendance: 93,219

FC Barcelona: Victor Valdes, Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Rafael Marquez, Yaya Toure (Sergi Busquets, 81), Andres Iniesta, Xavier Hernandez Xavi, Samuel Eto’o (Krkic Perez Bojan, 90), Thierry Henry (Seydou Keita, 74), Lionel Messi

Bayern Munich: Hans-Jorg Butt, Massimo Oddo, Christian Lell, Martin Demichelis, Vinicius Rodrigues Breno, Mark van Bommel, Jose Ze Roberto (Ernesto Jose Sosa, 77), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luca Toni, Hamit Altintop (Andreas Ottl, 46), Franck Ribery

Champions League 1/4 Final – 1st Leg

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Kick Off – 20.45 CET

Bayern Munich face Barcelona tonight in the knowledge that they have never lost to the Catalans. Tonight however they return to the scene of their heartbreaking Champions League Final defeat against Manchester United 10 years ago without two of their defensive stalwarts, Lucio, who is injured and his replacement Van Buyten has stayed behind in Germany due to personal matters and is unlikely to travel today. Barcelona  have lost their two previous home games against Bayern, in 1996 and 1998, but they have won their last seven home games against German teams, all in the Champions League.

Bayern suffered their worst defeat for seven years last weekend when they were thrashed 5-1 at  VFL Wolfsburg. Bayern, who fielded almost a full strength side, only Klose, Demichelis and Van Buyten were absent. It was 1-1 at half time but in the second half Bayern fell apart and between the 63rd and 77th minutes conceded four goals.

Guardiola has named a squad of 19 players for tonight’s match with the injured Abidal and Milito the only notable absences and  Hleb and Touré are both back in contention after recovering from minor injuries. Dani Alves, Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry are all expected to return to the first eleven after starting on the bench against Valladolid.

Apart from Lucio and Van Buyton, Bayern will have to do without the services of Miroslav Klose who is out with an ankle injury, but French midfielder Franck Ribery and defender Philipp Lahm have both shaken off minor injuries. Bayern’s threat in attack is likely to come from Luca Toni and Franck Ribéry and Pep Guardiola warned that Toni is “a very dangerous player in and around the box, who knows how to win free kicks. He’s a great goalscorer and one of the best front men in Europe right now”. As for Ribéry, Guardiola said “he’s a player who’ll come straight at you. He’s fast and knows how to cut in from the wings”.

Probable Starting XI’s

Barcelona: Valdes; Alves, Marquez, Pique, Puyol; Xavi; Keita, Iniesta; Messi, Eto’o, Henry.

Bayern Munich: Rensing; Oddo, Demichelis, Van Buyten, Lahm; Schweinsteiger, Ze Roberto, Van Bommel; Ribery, Toni, Podolski.

The Catalan’s, having lost three out of four matches following FIFA World Cup and international breaks this season, knew they could not afford to drop points and with this in mind Pep Guardiola rotated his squad leaving Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Dani Alves to start on the bench, while Pedro was handed a place in the first eleven. As expected it was Barcelona who dominated the early stages but they were struggling to produce the flowing football they are renowned for, and instead the game was more of a physical battle. The first chance of the match came on 11 minutes with Pedro forcing Asenjo into a fine save from a tight angle on the right. There were further chances for Barca, with Iniesta on 18 minutes and Eto’o on 23 minutes both going close.

Barca gradually started to take control and were starting to produce more and more convincing attacks. Xavi came close in the 34th minute, but his strike from an Eto’o assist was too high. In the 40th minute it was the same two players involved, but this time Eto’o was sent clear in the box after playing a one-two with Xavi, before he executed a sublime lob over the helpless Asenjo, to give Barca a crucial lead. Asenjo was called into action almost immediately after the goal when he produced a good save from Iniesta.

Valladolid started the second half with an attacking formation and on 54 minutes, a flowing move ended in a shot from Aguirre from the edge of the box, but it was a disappointing  end to an exciting sequence of play. Minutes later, Escudero nearly scored one of the goals of the season, beating four players while cutting in from the right, but Valdes managed to parry his shot. The home side were causing Barca problems and Guardiola decided to make changes, bringing on Alves and Messi for Sylvinho and Pedro. Valladolid continued to attack and Goitom was inches away from heading them level, only for Daniel Alves to get ahead of him at the last second and head behind.

On 75 minutes Andres Iniesta was sent clear but his effort past the advancing Asenjo went just the wrong side of the post. Daniel Alves forced Asenjo to save well with a powerful shot, which almost ended up in the net after rebounding of Eto’o.

As the match drew to a close the effects of the midweek internationals began to show on the Barcelona players and Valladolid spent most of the closing stages in Barca’s half, but lacked the killer instinct to score the equalizing goal.

Pep Guardiola praised Valladolid after the match saying ” Valladolid have been the only team in the league who have had the bravery to actually attack us and the response from my players was very good.”

Full Time: Real Valladolid 0 Barcelona 1(Eto’o 40)

Yellow Cards: Aguirre 20

Attendance: 20,000

Real Valladolid: Asenjo Andres Sergio, Munoz Pedro Lopez, Luis Prieto (Javier Vegas Baraja, 67), Jauregi Inaki Bea, Alberto Marcos, Marcos Sebastian Aguirre (Bartholomew Ogbeche, 57), Rubio Robles Alvaro, Fabian Bentaberry Canobbio, Fernandez Borja, Jonathan Gonzalez Sesma (Damian Escudero, 49), Henok Goitom

FC Barcelona: Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Rafael Marquez, Silvio Sylvinho (Daniel Alves, 59), Sergi Busquets, Xavier Hernandez Xavi, Seydou Keita, Pedro Rodriguez Pedrito (Lionel Messi, 59), Samuel Eto’o, Andres Iniesta (Eidur Gudjohnsen, 90)

Real Valladolid v Barcelona

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Nuevo Zorilla

Kick Off: 20:00 CET

Captain Carles Puyol and Andrés Iniesta have both recovered from injury and are named in Pep Guardiola’s 18 man squad for Saturday nights visit to Real Valladolid. The Barcelona coach is expected to rotate his squad and Messi, having played in Argentina’s two matches, is expected to start on the bench after admitting he found things difficult in the second match which was played at high altitude against Bolivia, and while the other South Americans and Aliaksandr Hleb have arrived back late to training after their international matches, Dani Alves should still be fit enough to start the match.

It will be interesting to see how Barca fare after this weekend, as in the previous four matches played so far after international breaks, they have accumulated six points out of the twelve on offer. Although these results are not particularly good, Barca has managed to avoid defeat.

With just 10 league matches left Barca will be looking to maintain their six point lead over nearest rivals, Real Madrid and the return of Puyol and Iniesta should provide a big boost to the Blaugrana defence and midfield.

Spain U-21 keeper Sergio Asenjo should take the starting job in between the posts and Mendilibar will hope he is up to the task against a relentless Barcelona attack. Pedro León will miss the match due to suspension and the young winger’s absence will sorely missed, but the return of defender José Antonio García Calvo will be a welcome reinforcement to the back-line, which will have to be in top form to deal with the Barca attack.

RECENT FORM

Real Valladolid

21/03 A Sevilla 1-4
15/03 H Getafe 1-0
08/03 A Recreativo 3-2
01/03 A Valencia 2-1
22/02 H Málaga 1-3

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Asenjo; López, Prieto, Calvo, Marcos; Rubio, Borja; Dorado, Cannobio, Sesma; Goitom

Barcelona

22/03 H Málaga 6-0
15/03 A Almería 2-0
11/03 H Lyon 5-2
07/03 H Athletic Bilbao 2-0
04/03 A Mallorca 1-1

Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Valdés; D. Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Sylvinho; Xavi, Keita, Gudjohnsen; Bojan, Eto’o, Henry

Pique and  Xavi were key players in Spain’s 1-0 victory over Turkey with Pique scoring the only goal of the game in the 60th minute, scoring from close range after Xavi’s free kick from the right had ricocheted back across goal off Sergio Ramos. Thierry Henry played the full 90 minutes in France’s 1-0 victory in Lithuania.

In the third classification stage in Africa, Seydou Keita played for the full match in Mali’s 1-1 draw with Sudan as did Samuel Eto’o in Cameroon’s 1-0 defeat by Togo.

In South America, Daniel Alves came off the bench in the 24th minute for Brazil in their 1-1 draw with Ecuador. Martin Caceres also featured in Uruguay’s shock 2-0 victory against group leaders Paraguay. The undoubted star of the weekend’s matches was of course Lionel Messi, who in Diego Maradona’s first competitive game in charge was handed the legendary number 10 shirt and showed no sign of nerves in the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Messi was outstanding and played the full 90 minutes, scored the opening goal in the 25th minute and set up the second for Tévez. Messi almost got a second late on with a magnificent dribble that ended with the ball brushing the post.  Later Maradona said “If that had gone in, we should have all left the stadium, paid for our tickets again and come back in,” clearly proud of his heir’s performance.