Category: Barcelona

SUCCESSFUL SEASON

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Despite suffering an embarrassing exit in the Champions League, Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova has said that the whole season has been a success for the team. Barcelona recently managed to win the fourth league title in five seasons, but the team has suffered disappointments in the cup competitions this season. This is especially true in the case of the Champions League in which they suffered an embarrassing defeat against Bayern Munich in the semifinals. The team was beaten 7-0 on aggregate. This has raised a lot of questions about the manager Vilanova.

However, he has said that the season gone by has been a success and people should not look at the final few months of the season alone. Barcelona have suffered numerous injuries in the last few months, while their manager only recently returned from cancer treatment in New York. The team managed to wrap up the title after the 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid during the weekend. Barcelona came into the match with an opportunity to wrap up the title after Real Madrid’s draw with Espanyol.

One of the major reasons for Barcelona being ineffective against Bayern Munich was the absence of Lionel Messi or for his presence in a partially fit condition.

“It has been a good season. The shame has been that we couldn’t compete better in the Champions League. Next season it will be even more difficult because to be in the semi-finals seven years running is very complicated, but the evaluation of the season is good because in the league we have had a great season. In the Champions League we were not fortunate and the referees haven’t helped us a lot. We are the best team in the league by a distance and there is no doubt about that,” said Vilanova after winning the title.

GUARDIOLA RETURNS

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The former Barcelona manager Guardiola recently announced that he will be returning from his year-long sabbatical as the manager of Bayern Munich. The German club have been successful in their attempts to pursue one of the most successful managers in world football over the last four years. His former assistant manager at Barcelona – Tito Vilanova, who is currently in charge of the Spanish club now, has said that he is extremely delighted that Guardiola is back in football management once again. The former Barcelona manager not only made Barcelona successful, but by playing an attractive style of football.

He will be taking over from the current manager Jupp Heynckes at the end of the season. Vilanova has said that he is even though he is delighted at the return of Guardiola, he did not know prior to the announcement where he would be heading. Vilanova worked under Guardiola for four years as the assistant manager at Barcelona. He has since taken over the full-time management role at the club, and he has been responsible for the best start made by any Spanish club to a league season. The club has managed to drop just two points in the first half of the season before finally suffering the first defeat against Real Sociedad.

“I didn’t know where he was going, I didn’t know anything. I suppose he couldn’t say. I’m very happy that he’s returning to football and to one of Europe’s great clubs. I don’t know what possible teams he could have gone to, nor the kinds of contracts he was offered but I’m sure they were all of the top level. He had time to choose and would have thought it all over very well. What’s clear is that he couldn’t go wrong because they were all top teams,” said Vilanova.

NOT COMPLETELY RECOVERED

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The Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova has said that he is far from being completely covered from the cancer he was recently diagnosed. The 44-year-old has been undergoing treatment for the cancer problems through chemotherapy and radiation. He missed a few weeks of the action for Barcelona, but recently returned to the dugout in the 4-0 win over Espanyol during the weekend. It was a comfortable result for the manager, whose health condition has been the main priority at the club over the last couple of weeks. Barcelona could not have had a better news than the 4-0 win over Espanyol.

The current world player of the year Lionel Messi scored after just 29 min on the clock with a penalty. Messi finished the year 2012 with 91 goals in all competitions, and he is already off the mark for 2013. The victory was made comfortable due to the early goal from Xavi, who opened the scoring after just 10 min on the clock. Pedro then scored two goals in the space of 12 min to give Barcelona a 3-0 advantage, which was then made 4-0 by the penalty from Lionel Messi. Even though Barcelona did not score the remainder of the match, it was enough to maintain the massive advantage at the top of the table.

“This is not over yet and there will be days that I can take training and others I can’t but I want the media to realise that this illness is mine and it is private even if I am a public figure. I would like to thank everyone for their support. This club has had a lot of knocks in the last couple of years but I always want to take the positive approach. What has happened to me could have happened to anyone,” said Vilanova.

REAL STILL IN IT

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The Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova has said that he will not write off the chances of Real Madrid winning the title this season, despite the fact that their arch rivals are 11 points behind them in the table. It has been a strange season in Le Liga this time around, as Real Madrid have been unable to exert the same dominance as they have done in the past. The current champions also are behind Barcelona by 11 points in the table even at this early stage in the season. They have already suffered three defeats in the league, with the latest coming during the weekend.

Despite this massive advantage over their arch rivals, Barcelona will not be writing off the challenge from Real Madrid according to Tito Vilanova. Real Madrid will be playing against Athletico Madrid, who are eight points ahead of the in the table, during the weekend, while Barcelona will be up against Atletic Bilbao. Even though in the past, the Madrid derby has been a source of regular three points for Real Madrid, many reckon that it will be tough this time around. As a result, there is a chance that this lead might increase to 14 points by the end of this week. Barcelona will be able to set a new record for their best start to a new season by beating Atletic Bilbao.

“I wouldn’t give them up for dead. It’s not normal that we win all our matches. We should prepare ourselves for when we lose. We are talking about maybe being 14 points ahead [of Real] after tomorrow but maybe we’ll end the weekend only eight in front,” said the Barcelona manager ahead of this match. Athletico Madrid are the closest contenders for Barcelona, as they are just three points behind the Catalan club.

MOURINHO NOT WORRIED

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The Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has said that he is not worried about the eight-point lead that Barcelona currently have at the top of the table. Due to the indifferent form in the early part of the campaign, Real Madrid allowed Barcelona to open an eight-point advantage in the division. The Spanish la Liga is one of the most competitive for the top two teams because they rarely drop points. Hence, there is a feeling that the eight-point gap might be a little too large for Real Madrid to close even at this early stage of the season.

The former Chelsea manager, though, reckons that it is only October and not March. Real Madrid had a 10 point advantage over Barcelona last season, but that was closed down to very dangerous levels before they eventually won the title. As a result, there is always the chance of closing the gap when there is a lot of matches remaining according to the manager of Real Madrid. José Mourinho saw Barcelona win handsomely 5-0 against Rayo Vallecano. Real Madrid also repeated the same result with a 5-0 win over Mallorca. Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the outstanding player for Real Madrid in this match.

“We were 10 points ahead of the second in March last season in March and we have always felt that the league is open. Today it’s not March; it is only October and November. There are not 10 points there are only eight, so we have to keep going and ignore our big rivals (Barcelona), and in this case two because Atletico Madrid also have an important advantage over us,” said Mourinho. Real Madrid lost the opportunity to close the gap to 5 points in the recently concluded El Clasico, which finished in a 2-2 draw.

VILANOVA OFFERS SUPPORT

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The new Barcelona signing Alex Song has said that the manager Tito Vilanova supported him a lot prior to making his first start for the club. The Cameroon midfielder was a £ 15 million signing from Arsenal in the summer transfer window. However, he has not been utilised as a starter by the manager Tito Villanova up until now, but he was part of the starting line-up that played against Valencia recently. Barcelona managed a narrow 1-0 win over Valencia to move five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.

After the match, the former Arsenal midfielder said that he is extremely happy to be part of the starting line-up for the first time. He has said that the manager Tito Vilanova was a major influence in helping him adapt to the Barcelona style of football. Barcelona have made a great start to the season, which is also coupled with the poor start to the arch rivals Real Madrid. As a result, they have already built a healthy lead over Real Madrid in their efforts to reclaim the title from Real Madrid. Song has said that he is extremely happy to start the match, but is more importantly happy with the three points.

“The coach spoke with me ahead of the game and explained what he expected of me. That really helped me calm down a bit and gave me a lot of confidence. My team-mates also talked to me a lot and that was very helpful. I know that it’s important at Barcelona to pass the ball directly. But strangely enough, sometimes it’s even easier to drive the ball forward and keep possession,” said Song after the match. Barcelona will be facing Getafe in the league before taking on Spartak Moskova in the Champions League.

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BARCA SQUAD ANNOUNCED

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The new manager of Barcelona, Tito Vilanova, has announced the Barcelona’s squad for the La Liga season. Surprisingly, Cristian Tello hasn’t been included in the first choice squad. In the last season, many experienced players of Barcelona were injured. So, some young players were given the opportunity to play for the first team and Tello was one of them. But, the experienced players have returned back to the team after recovering from injury. So, Vilanova has decided to leave Tello out of the team.

Tello’s exclusion from the squad is a bit surprising because he played quite well in the last season and he was expected to be retained in the squad. Tello played his first match for Barcelona in November last year against CE L’Hospitalet. He played his first match in La Liga against Villarreal on 28th January 2012. He came to play as substitute in the 75th minute of the match. In the next week, he started the match against Real Sociedad and he scored a goal in the 8th minute of the match. In his very first match in the Champions League against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Tello scored a goal after substituting Andres Iniesta in the second half. He continued his good form till the end of the season and the former manager of Barcelona, Josep Guardiola, had praised Tello after the last season.

Even after being dropped from the first squad, Tello has made it clear that he is not planning to leave Barcelona. There have been rumors that Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in the Spanish striker, but, Tello said that it is not the right time to leave Barcelona. As per Tello, he would certainly make a move in his career at some point of time but not now. He is willing to spend some more time with Barcelona.

MASCH CLOSE TO NEW DEAL

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Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has said that he is close to agreeing a new deal with the club. The Argentine midfielder was one of the last signings made by the former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.  Even though he was initially a midfielder, Guardiola managed to successfully convert him into a central defender. The former Liverpool man has now revealed that he is close to extending his current contract with the club after sufficiently impressing the officials of the club during his short time at the Camp Nou.

The midfielder was a £ 25 million signing from Liverpool a few season ago. He has managed to lift some of the greatest cup competitions in the world including the Champions League in his inaugural season with the Spanish club. However, he was converted into a defender by the manager Guardiola this season. Although, it was a move that was not successful as in previous seasons, the 28-year-old has said that he is extremely comfortable playing as a central defender. It is thought that he will signing a new four year deal with the club. His wages are expected to improve in accordance with his importance to the team, which has risen in the last few months.

“My contract renewal is almost done. Perhaps there will be more news this week, or the next. I’m very calm about the whole thing,” said the midfielder at a recent press conference. Mascherano is close to making 100 appearances for the Catalan club, who have been judged as the best in the world right now. They have lifted an unprecedented 16 trophies in the last four years under their former manager, who was recently replaced by his assistant Tito. Mascherano has said that he expects Barcelona to be successful under the new man as well.

VILLANOVA WANTS DEFENDERS

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Barcelona’s new manager Tito Villanova has said that he will be looking to bring his a few defensive players in the summer transfer window. It is the start of a new era at the Camp Nou after assistant manager Tito Villanova will be taking over from manager Guardiola, who has stepped down from his post due to fatigue. It is going to be extremely difficult for anyone who is replacing Guardiola to repeat his achievements with the Spanish club. The former Barcelona captain guided the club to a quite impressive 14 trophies in just four seasons. Tito Villanova has agreed a new two-year deal with the club recently.

Immediately after taking over at the club, the 42-year-old has confirmed that he will be not looking at enhancing the attacking options at the club, but will be focusing more on the defensive side. Barcelona have been left extremely vulnerable in the defence this season due to the lack of Carlos Puyol for most of the matches, while Pique has also not been at his best. As a result, midfielder Mascherano has been used as the centre back in numerous matches by Guardiola. Tito Villanova also acknowledged that he will not be looking to change the system too much.

“We want to reinforce the squad at the back. It’s a position we have had problems with. At the moment, we are interested in a left back and a centreback. We don’t have any plans to bring in any one up front. Last year David Villa, Alexis Sanchez and Pedro all suffered injuries but we hope next year they’ll be ok. Also we can count on (youth academy players) Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello. Pep and I were very close. Pep was the communicator of the message, but he shared the decision-making with me 50-50 and sought my opinion. Most of the time we were in complete agreement,” said the new Barcelona manager.