FOOTBALL UPDATES #MESSI TRAINS WITH THE GROUP#

UPDATED: Messi trains with the group

FC Barcelona’s first team held a training session this Tuesday afternoon at the Ciutat Esportiva to help prepare for tomorrow’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain. Lionel Messi was able to join his teammates, and was seen to be working normally with the group under the orders of Tito Vilanova during the opening minutes of the session. At the press conference before training, Jordi Roura noted the “positive evolution” of Messi’s recovery. Adriano and Pedro, without medical clearance, also trained at the same pace as the rest of their peers.
Deulofeu and Oier, from the B team, worked today with the first team, though neither one will be on the final squad list for Wednesday’s quarter-final match.
After the session in Sant Joan Despí, the 20 players named to Vilanova’s squad traveled to the hotel where the team will be staying overnight. Leo Messi’s name is on the squad list, as are Pedro and Adriano’s, though none of the three has been medically cleared yet. Dos Santos has been left off of the list for tactical reasons. Barça will hold its final training session on Wednesday at the Camp Nou.

FOOTBALL UPDATES #CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW BARCA VS PSG

Champions League Preview: FC Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain

The circumstance for this UEFA Champions League return leg is drastically different from just weeks ago. A 2-2 draw in Paris is gigantically superior to a 2-0 deficit, yet, the team should approach Paris Saint-Germain not vastly differently to AC Milan. The objective must certainly be to score, multiple times, if not simply because Tito Vilanova cannot plan the match realistically believing the team will keep a clean sheet. More after the jump.
I watch a bit of PSG. Well, full disclosure, I try my best to watch PSG in Ligue 1 but rarely can stomach a full match of what is usually insipid and lethargic football that predictably concludes with a Zlatan heroic. It makes sense, PSG hire mercenaries to win trophies but none of those players ever dreamed of playing in Paris, and frankly they cannot motivate themselves to peak performance on a Saturday afternoon versus Stade Brestois 29.
But last week was different. I am open to correction but aside from Maxwell and Beckham, no other PSG player has a Champions League medal to his name, and that was the motivation needed to produce PSG’s best performance of their season, both my opinion and that of the journalists closest to them. 2-2 is certainly advantage FC Barcelona, but the threat from set-pieces was only too evident in France and then names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucas Moura, and Thiago Silva sprinkled with some David Beckham, Jérémy Ménez, and Marco Verratti are concern enough.
Then there is Lionel Messi, or rather, will there be Lionel Messi? His blood ran red, to the disappointment of many, so an extraterrestrial he is not, still his recoveries from injury of late have been nothing short of alien. My guess is he will play, but is there concern if he does not?
Yes, a 5-0 demolition of Mallorca was enjoyable, Fàbregas and Alexis ran riot, but a home match versus the worst team in Spain is not a Wednesday night versus some of the game’s finest individuals hungry for validation. ‘Messi-dependence’ is a term cules dislike, it’s too often exaggerated, but it’s simultaneously hard to argue the numbers. If one takes a ratio of top goalscorer (always Messi) to next highest scorer since Pep Guardiola’s debut year, a trend emerges: 1.06, 2.04, 2.3, 4.87, and currently 3.93. Messi’s importance has grown to scoring just more than Samuel Eto’o in 2008/9 to doubling his teammates and most recently scoring nearly 5 times more than anyone else. That is far from exact correlation, clearly without Messi others would inevitably pick up the slack, but his importance is never more clear than in tight matches versus well-drilled defensive setups. PSG need to score, but what if they score first, a bumbled in corner perhaps, then sit back in the mold of Inter Milan and Chelsea and La Pulga isn’t there to create space, assists, and goals.
And defensively? Officially only Mascherano is absolutely out, but Puyol isn’t even near top fitness, Abidal just made a return after about one year, Bartra lacks this level of experience, Song has proven himself a mess at the back, and while Piqué has proven himself class, even the most fervent of us cannot say this year’s performances instill total confidence. Choosing Piqué’s partner, and the permutations it creates, is Tito Vilanova’s most critical decision.

Team News

FC Barcelona
Javier Mascherano is sidelined, Pedro and Adriano are expected to be available, and Lionel Messi will be a game-time decision.
Line-up wise, the permutations depend on Piqué’s partner and Messi’s inclusion. Tito could leave Busquets at his best in the midfield and trust in Bartra, or Busi may move backwards into a position he plays competently and create space for an inform Cesc to enter and focus more on ball retention than classical defending. Has Song earned enough faith? Can Alexis’s industry be sacrificed for the poacher Villa? All questions, of which there are many more, to be answered soon enough.
Predicted line-up:  Valdés; Alves, Piqué, Busquets, Alba; Xavi, Fàbregas, Iniesta; Alexis, Messi, Villa
PSG
Both ‘Thiagos’, Silva and Motta have made the traveling squad. Blaise Matuidi’s suspension is Carlo Ancelotti’s only proper personnel absentee. His role as destroyer will almost certainly be filled by former blaugrana Motta.
David Beckham will start again to fulfill his role as chief engineer of a more direct approach and set-piece executioner. Be under no illusions, PSG will have been practicing many variants of dead-balls over the past days.
Predicted line-up:  Sirigu; Jallet, T. Silva, Alex, Maxwell; Beckham, T. Motta; Moura, Pastore, Lavezzi; Ibrahimovic
Squad (23, 5 to drop): Alex, Areola, Armand, Beckham, Camara, Chantome, Douchez, Gameiro, Ibrahimovic, Jallet, Lavezzi, Le Crom, Lucas, Maxwell, Ménez, Pastore, Sakho, Sirigu, Motta, Silva, Tiéné, Van der Wiel, Verratti

Prediction

Barça will find a way. Success in the Champions League of late has been fundamentally predicated on home performances, so thankfully the Camp Nou beckons. Whether it will be comfortable enough or nail-biting remains to be seen. PSG was manageable mostly from open play, aside from Moura early on, so Barça need to be focused and vigilant about not committing needless fouls around the penalty area. Rather let the PSG man beat you and earn his cross than barge him over carelessly and allow them to set up a routine and send bodies, much larger and taller bodies, forward. The dead-ball is the only area PSG unequivocally hold advantage.

FOOTBALL UPDATES #XAVI HERNANDEZ I FEEL POSITIVE#

Xavi: “I feel positive”

Xavi Hernández recently sat down with uefa.com to discuss a range of topics: upcoming challenges for the team, the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final, the importance of Tito Vilanova, and the team’s current style of play. Excerpts from the interview can be found after the jump.
 
UEFA: A few hours have passed and your head is cooler, so what do you now make of the draw with PSG?

Xavi: I feel positive, because it was a 2-2 draw away from home. But looking back at the game, I feel bad about it, because we went 2-1 up practically in the 90th minute and then they equalised in the very last move of the match. But it wasn’t a bad result, it was good. There are 90 minutes left at home and we’ll be playing in front of our own fans, and against Milan they made as much noise as they could. It’s a pity about the injuries, both Mascherano and Leo. We’ll see how Leo is, but it looks like Mascherano is out for a month or a month and a half. … They’re big losses. But it was a good result, we’re the favourites, we’re at home and there are 90 minutes left to play. But looking back at the last game, the way they scored with the last move of the game leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

What can you say about the return leg now that you have such big defensive losses in Mascherano, Puyol and Adriano?

We’re suffering a lot of injuries at the back. Puyol has had an operation. Abidal has come back from a long and serious problem. Adriano is injured, now Mascherano… We’re having no luck at the back. But we’ll have eleven players, that’s for sure, and we’ll see what the boss decides to do. There are players to bring in as substitutes. We’re optimistic because we know we’re playing at home, but PSG have a great team, they’re quick up front and play well on the counter. They’re no small fries, they’re a big team.

You said just now that it hurt to concede an equaliser so late. But it’s still an away draw and you scored the second goal from a penalty. That could make a big difference to the tie…

The most important thing was getting two away goals. It was important to score and Leo Messi’s goal gave us a lot of confidence and that boosted the team. We did well in the second half, we had the possession, and came close to 2-0. Then they equalised, but we kept dominating and eventually got a penalty and it looked like the tie was sorted. But then they got an equaliser in that unfortunate move. But overall we’re positive about it, even though the way it ended hurt.

One of the best pieces of news is that Tito Vilanova is back on the bench. How important is it for the team to have your manager back?

It’s vitally important. We have been without our head coach, without the boss, and that shows. We have all worked hard together, from Jordi Roura to Altimira and Edu Pons, who are all part of the staff, and even the captains and the youngest players. We’ve all pulled together and trained hard, but we were still missing the man who for months and months has been doing the team talks, who has been laying the first stone. And you miss that. But he’s back, and back in a confident mood and with a positive mentality despite what he’s been through. He is an example for us all, because of the way he has fought and suffered. He’s been away for two months but we have been in contact with him. He is very motivated about the rest of the season and our objectives. We’re doing well in the league and in a good position in the Champions League. We’re are really hoping that things can work out, and even more for him, because he deserves everything we’ve fought for, and for the way he has stood by the team even though he’s been fighting against an illness.

What did the comeback against AC Milan mean to you?

It was heads or tails. I think we were unlucky in Milan. We didn’t play well as a team, but 2-0 was too cruel a result. We knew we’d have things in our favour at home, with our fans, with the pitch damp as we like it, because that gets the ball moving. I think it was a turning point, because we had just lost the cup semi-final against Real Madrid, and that was a big blow to us. But we recovered well, we recovered the best of Barça in attack, we started creating pressure up front again, what we’d been missing in games before … We all pulled our socks up and made sure of making a comeback against such a great team as Milan.

As a midfielder, what are you trying to do when you play? What is your aim in each game?

I think a lot about the game and imagine what the opposition will play like. I think about whether we should keep the ball in the middle or whether they’ll give us space to prove superior on the wings. There are a lot of things. I try to make the game flow and to think a bit about where the keys to the match lie, and to transfer all the things that you get from being a veteran of the game, to help your team mates, to make the team work together … So many things. Obviously I try to play well individually, and to help the team to play good football and win.

You have made more passes than any other player this season in the Champions League. What kind of notice do you take of these statistics?

None. I read a lot about these things, but what I always try to do is find a chance for my team mates. I go where the ball goes. I try to understand the game a bit and work out what the team needs. I try to get us to outnumber them two against one or three against two. I try to understand the play and work out what the team needs, and my role stems from that: hold onto the ball, not lose it, create fluidity, go from one side to the other, to have an idea of where the other team is going to attack from. That’s why I’m the kind of player that participates more in attacking moves.

You won the Champions League two years ago at Wembley. Was that the greatest display yet by this generation of FC Barcelona players?

Evidently it’s titles that have brought us to that level. Everyone respects us and admires us, and we are very happy to have won so many things. And yes, the team played very well against Manchester United that day, it was generally excellent all round. We did what we train to do each day, to be the protagonists and to have the ball. We saw an excellent Barça that day, but we also saw that in the final against Manchester in 2009 and in so many games against Real Madrid both home and away. I think we’ve had four or five excellent years in which Barcelona have been very, very good. But I think there are still some great games left in this generation and we’ll enjoy even further success.

#FOOTBALL UPDATES#

Number of the Day: 37 years and 149 days

37 years, 149 days – with his participation over the weekend, José Manual Pinto became the oldest player to participate in a La Liga match for FC Barcelona.
Pinto came in under the radar but nobody can dispute he has been of value to the club and never let us down.

#CHAMPIONS LEAGUE#

History vs. the French at Camp Nou favours Barça

The official FC Barcelona site reports that out of seven games against French teams at the Camp Nou in the past, six final results would be favourable considering the current standing after the first leg at the Parc de Princes (2-2). More information of the past encounters against French teams after the jump!
FC Barcelona’s first leg encounter in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals against French ‘galacticos’ Paris Saint-Germain last week ended in a 2-2 draw with Messi and Xavi scoring the clutch away goals for the blaugrana. Barça have played French teams at the Camp Nou seven times in the past. Six out of these results would result in FC Barcelona advancing in the 2-legged affair when the current 2-2 score is taken into account.
Victories vs. Niza (2-0), Monaco (2-0), Lyon (2-0 , 3-0 & 5-0) and a draw against current opponents PSG (1994-95, 1-1) are the results that favour FC Barcelona. A loss against Metz in 1984-85 is the only result that would see Barça’s CL campaign come to a premature end.
Looking at the present with the 2-2 scoreline, any victory or a 0-0/1-1 draw would see Barça go through.  A 2-2 draw after 90 minutes would force extra time while a loss would mean disappointment for the Catalans.

FOOTBALL UPDATES #CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW BARCA VS PSG#

Champions League Preview: FC Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain

The circumstance for this UEFA Champions League return leg is drastically different from just weeks ago. A 2-2 draw in Paris is gigantically superior to a 2-0 deficit, yet, the team should approach Paris Saint-Germain not vastly differently to AC Milan. The objective must certainly be to score, multiple times, if not simply because Tito Vilanova cannot plan the match realistically believing the team will keep a clean sheet. More after the jump.
I watch a bit of PSG. Well, full disclosure, I try my best to watch PSG in Ligue 1 but rarely can stomach a full match of what is usually insipid and lethargic football that predictably concludes with a Zlatan heroic. It makes sense, PSG hire mercenaries to win trophies but none of those players ever dreamed of playing in Paris, and frankly they cannot motivate themselves to peak performance on a Saturday afternoon versus Stade Brestois 29.
But last week was different. I am open to correction but aside from Maxwell and Beckham, no other PSG player has a Champions League medal to his name, and that was the motivation needed to produce PSG’s best performance of their season, both my opinion and that of the journalists closest to them. 2-2 is certainly advantage FC Barcelona, but the threat from set-pieces was only too evident in France and then names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucas Moura, and Thiago Silva sprinkled with some David Beckham, Jérémy Ménez, and Marco Verratti are concern enough.
Then there is Lionel Messi, or rather, will there be Lionel Messi? His blood ran red, to the disappointment of many, so an extraterrestrial he is not, still his recoveries from injury of late have been nothing short of alien. My guess is he will play, but is there concern if he does not?
Yes, a 5-0 demolition of Mallorca was enjoyable, Fàbregas and Alexis ran riot, but a home match versus the worst team in Spain is not a Wednesday night versus some of the game’s finest individuals hungry for validation. ‘Messi-dependence’ is a term cules dislike, it’s too often exaggerated, but it’s simultaneously hard to argue the numbers. If one takes a ratio of top goalscorer (always Messi) to next highest scorer since Pep Guardiola’s debut year, a trend emerges: 1.06, 2.04, 2.3, 4.87, and currently 3.93. Messi’s importance has grown to scoring just more than Samuel Eto’o in 2008/9 to doubling his teammates and most recently scoring nearly 5 times more than anyone else. That is far from exact correlation, clearly without Messi others would inevitably pick up the slack, but his importance is never more clear than in tight matches versus well-drilled defensive setups. PSG need to score, but what if they score first, a bumbled in corner perhaps, then sit back in the mold of Inter Milan and Chelsea and La Pulga isn’t there to create space, assists, and goals.
And defensively? Officially only Mascherano is absolutely out, but Puyol isn’t even near top fitness, Abidal just made a return after about one year, Bartra lacks this level of experience, Song has proven himself a mess at the back, and while Piqué has proven himself class, even the most fervent of us cannot say this year’s performances instill total confidence. Choosing Piqué’s partner, and the permutations it creates, is Tito Vilanova’s most critical decision.
Team News
FC Barcelona
Javier Mascherano is sidelined, Pedro and Adriano are expected to be available, and Lionel Messi will be a game-time decision.
Line-up wise, the permutations depend on Piqué’s partner and Messi’s inclusion. Tito could leave Busquets at his best in the midfield and trust in Bartra, or Busi may move backwards into a position he plays competently and create space for an inform Cesc to enter and focus more on ball retention than classical defending. Has Song earned enough faith? Can Alexis’s industry be sacrificed for the poacher Villa? All questions, of which there are many more, to be answered soon enough.
Predicted line-up:  Valdés; Alves, Piqué, Busquets, Alba; Xavi, Fàbregas, Iniesta; Alexis, Messi, Villa
PSG
Both ‘Thiagos’, Silva and Motta have made the traveling squad. Blaise Matuidi’s suspension is Carlo Ancelotti’s only proper personnel absentee. His role as destroyer will almost certainly be filled by former blaugrana Motta.
David Beckham will start again to fulfill his role as chief engineer of a more direct approach and set-piece executioner. Be under no illusions, PSG will have been practicing many variants of dead-balls over the past days.
Predicted line-up:  Sirigu; Jallet, T. Silva, Alex, Maxwell; Beckham, T. Motta; Moura, Pastore, Lavezzi; Ibrahimovic
Squad (23, 5 to drop): Alex, Areola, Armand, Beckham, Camara, Chantome, Douchez, Gameiro, Ibrahimovic, Jallet, Lavezzi, Le Crom, Lucas, Maxwell, Ménez, Pastore, Sakho, Sirigu, Motta, Silva, Tiéné, Van der Wiel, Verratti
Prediction
Barça will find a way. Success in the Champions League of late has been fundamentally predicated on home performances, so thankfully the Camp Nou beckons. Whether it will be comfortable enough or nail-biting remains to be seen. PSG was manageable mostly from open play, aside from Moura early on, so Barça need to be focused and vigilant about not committing needless fouls around the penalty area. Rather let the PSG man beat you and earn his cross than barge him over carelessly and allow them to set up a routine and send bodies, much larger and taller bodies, forward. The dead-ball is the only area PSG unequivocally hold advantage.

#WELCOME BACK ABIDAL#

A miracle at Camp Nou

As the referee blew the whistle for full time, Éric Abidal dragged off his shirt. Under it he had on another one, one with a very special message: “Merci mon cousin”. The message in French means “thank you my cousin”. As the first reporters found their way to the man of the evening, the first thing Abi told them was “Merci Gérard! Without him I wouldn’t be here today.”
Gérard is Éric’s cousin who over one year ago donated part of his liver to save Abi’s life. “Without him I wouldn’t be here today.” A few very strong words that tell a story about a hard fight between life and death. When in March 2012 it became official that Éric Abidal had relapsed and needed a liver transplant, few thought he’d ever play football again. Still that wasn’t the biggest concern, the biggest concern was that he’d survive. If he would see his girls grow up, if he would see his team play another game. Gérard was the one who put himself under the scalpel to save Éric, something Éric will forever be extremely thankful for. But it wasn’t only thanks to Gérard that we got to see Éric Abidal out on the Camp Nou pitch this evening. It was also thanks to Éric. He never let his guard down, he never gave up, he just kept on smiling and encouraging everyone around him.

Éric even took the time to encourage others who also suffered from cancer.
“You have in your head the same thing that Abidal has in his liver, and tomorrow they will remove it.” This is what a dad told his 15-year-old son, two minutes after they received the terrible news about his condition. The son looked at his dad and said, “Dad, buy me an Abidal shirt. I’m going to fight like him and win my own Champions League.”  The boy didn’t cry, and he was the only one who didn’t as he went into the operating room with his Abidal shirt.
One week later the dad ran into Abidal at a store and told him the story about his son, showing him a picture of his child at the hospital with his Abidal shirt. Five months later, Abidal, Puyol and Alexis visited the hospital. When Éric entered the room, the boy cried for the first time since getting his diagnosis. Abidal went up to the boy and told him that he was there to encourage him. Before leaving, Abidal gave the boy his Rolex watch that had his number 22 inscribed, saying that the watch was better off with the kid as it could bring him happiness. According to the dad, the visit from Abidal gave his boy a joy he had never seen in him before and at night he would put on the light to look at the inscription on the watch just one more time.
It has been more than a year since Éric Abidal last played a football match. A year in which he has suffered physically, but mostly mentally. During the months he spent in the hospital he only saw his daughters on three occasions, as he didn’t want them to see him in his condition. Not seeing his daughters was one of the hardest things Éric had ever gone through. But he always kept on fighting, and he never stopped believing that one day he’d be out on that pitch again. Neither did the club, who decided to renew Abidal’s contract even though they couldn’t be sure he’d ever play again. During the presentation of the squad in August 2012, Tito Vilanova said that they would keep on waiting for Abi, for as long as he needed. Tito also said “Abi, your fight is our strength.” Words Abidal revealed, after yesterday’s game, that have helped him on his way back.
When Éric was in the squad for the Celta Vigo game last week, player after player took a picture with him, on the bus or on the plane. Each post on twitter or Facebook was to tell the world that look, our hero is back! Yesterday after the game they all did it again. Youth players and ex-teammates also tweeted about their happiness for Abi’s return, posting old pictures they had once taken with him.

Éric Abidal’s comeback yesterday was so much more than a professional football player returning to a football field. It was about a young man winning over cancer. A young man inspiring a whole world. A young man showing strength that is out of this world, but also giving strength to those who need it.
When Abidal came out to warm up, it felt like the entire Camp Nou just stopped watching the game. You could feel how the football match taking place did not matter. Instead the fans’ eyes were on this man running back and forth on the sideline. The fans’ lips were screaming his name.

Éric Abidal has shown Barça fans that football is just football and there is more to life than football. He has also made it possible for Barça fans to celebrate the biggest victory any club, any person, any one could ever celebrate. The victory of life.
Yesterday, April 6th, 2013, Camp Nou saw a miracle take place. And I was there.
Merci Gérard for saving our Rey Éric and Merci Abi for never giving up. You are a true inspiration and role model. Merci!