All the Goals from Tonight's rout of Levante at the Camp Nou. Sanchez opened the scoring followed by Messi, Pedro, cesc and Xavi all scoring. Find below the video of all the goals.
Aug 19, 2013
FC Barcelona destroys Levante in 2013-14 La Liga Debut | FC Barcelona - 7, Levante - 0
- FC Barcelona made a winning start in the league under the new manager Tata Martino
- FC Barcelona raced to a Six Goal lead in the first half of the match.
FC Barcelona started their La Liga 2013-14 season in some style by putting seven unanswered goals past a hapless Levante side at the Camp Nou. With such a huge victory Barca would be confident of defending their La Liga title this season. Five goal scorers scored seven goals for Barca and all of them saw some brilliant team play. Sanchez, Cesc, Xavi scored one each whereas Pedro and Messi scored twice in quite a show of strength at the Camp Nou turf. As expected in a first match we were not up to 100%, misplacing some passes regularly, but the relentless pressing Tata Martino has once again got back into the team saw us regaining possession almost immediately. As I said in my FC Barcelona vs Levante Preview, this match was a glorious mismatch from the beginning. The line-up selected by Tata Martino was very much different from what everyone expected. Tata Martino decided not to start with both Messi and Neymar in his debut La Liga match. Instead Sanchez, Pedro and Messi formed the front line. Even in the midfield there were some suspense with Cesc, who recovered from injury just in time making into the lineup instead of Iniesta. - Cesc, Busquets and Xavi. That decision made sense especially with Iniesta been on International duty in midweek. The defense was more or less the expected one with Puyol unavailable - Alves, Mascherano, Pique and Adriano with Valdes guarding the goal. Pinto, Bartra, Alba, Song, Iniesta, Neymar and Tello made the bench.
Aug 18, 2013
Eric Abidal vs Levante Video - Can't Believe we Let this Guy Go
Thanks to Dervyx3 for making this compilation. After watching this video all of us would be wondering why we let this guy leave! Strangely even after seeing him play like this our management felt he wasn't good enough. Now we are looking at the prospect of his absence hurting us really bad this season. Let's dedicate this video to the idiots who made the decision.
Aug 17, 2013
FC Barcelona vs Levante Preview - The 2013 - 14 Season Officially Starts
FC Barcelona will begin its defense of La Liga crown tomorrow night at the Camp Nou against Levante, the club based in Valencia. Once again the club will be off to a hectic start, having to play five matches in the opening fifteen days. That also involves the two legged affair Super Copa affair against Atletico Madrid. The season has not yet officially began but we already is seeing some injury issues. Cesc Fabregas is more or less ruled out of the opening match because of the injury he picked up in the last match on the Asian tour. But there is a feeling he will be available for the mid week copa affair. Lionel Messi is also carrying a thigh injury, but has already started training with the group. That means he could be more or less available for Sunday's match. In a season the other teams in Spain have weakened so much due to the exodus that we saw in the summer window, there won't be any other contender other than FC Barcelona and Real Madrid for the Liga crown. Incidentally both are being managed by new managers, we have to go back to the start of the Rijkaard era when both these teams had new managers.
Aug 14, 2013
The Whole Barca Management is One Great Big Joke
I have no idea how to put it better. The whole thing has to be a joke, otherwise we are all nuts! From the moment the referee blew the whistle at Allianz Arena in a humiliating 4-0 rout, we have been searching for a center back. Now they are saying that signing a center back in not a priority at all; the all blame is put on Tata Martino as he is reported to be not interested in signing a center-back. It looks like the fact that we even conceded against Malaysia in pre-season have no bearing in making that decision. You may ask why I am being so agitated! For the record, I wasn't too much in favour of signing a center-back this summer when the transfer window re-opened. I had my reasons for that - I expected Abidal to get back to fitness and believed in Muniesa and Bartra in providing sufficient cover. Including them we had Mascherano, Pique, Puyol(when he returns), Abidal, Bartra and Muniesa as cover for center-back position. That was more than enough. But the first thing the idiot named Rosell got to do in the transfer window was to ship Abidal and Muniesa out for free. And now he says we don’t have to buy a center-back! The whole thing is simply put Scandalous! If we seriously didn't have to buy a center-back, then why talk about Thiago Silva and David Luiz in each of your press conference.
Aug 12, 2013
FC Barcelona 2013-14 Season Preview
With barely a week left for the start of La Liga 2013-14 season, Barca is still clueless about the reinforcements needed for defense. Slowly Cules are gearing up to a brilliant possibility of seeing our defense stretched like a torn inner-wear, like in last season. Some of the similarities to last season have already shown up, with Puyol not available for the majority of the first half and Rosell & Co. arrogantly letting Abidal and Muniesa leave for free. No need to worry as such, as Rosell and Zubi will sign one of these guys - David Luiz (Chelsea), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) and Daniel Agger (Liverpool). Want to know the status of these three pursuits? It's simple, our first bid for David Luiz was firmly send back with a "Don't Waste Our Time" note attached; Agger's bid was also rejected but this time the note read "Not for that Money" and Vertonghen we haven't officially bid; strangely he is one player who was offered to Barca last season; we weren't interested and now we most probably have to deal with Daniel Levy. Now this preview has already started in a seriously negative way, isn’t it? Oh, Wait! There are more yet to come!
Aug 8, 2013
Barca Transfer News Updates - No Surprises Involved
As the title suggest, don't expect any surprises in this section. I have been telling you guys what will happen to our high profile transfer pursuits for some time. You still are living in the Neverland, then it's not my fault. Despite the sheer stupidity of our pursuits, there is no death of sensational news in media. That is a good thing having two media houses who only writes about us. If one of us sneezes, that also will become news. So below is the recap of the latest transfer status quo.....
Aug 7, 2013
Will Barca sign a Center-Back this summer?
"Experience suggests that it's not easy to find the center-back for Barca" - Gérard Pique
What should Barca fans read from the statement of their star center back? If there wasn't enough confusion already about Barca's strategy in the transfer market; this statement has compounded that feeling. All courtesy of the great work or the lack of it is done by Andoni Zubizarreta. If I say we are absolutely clueless about signing the center-back; that would be a glorious under-statement. For the record we can't blame the management for not signing the center back by now. We had or better put, they had dreams of signing first Thiago Silva, then Marquinhos , then David Luiz and now Daniel Agger; the list may not end there. So like the fans dreamt, the board and the Sporting director Zubizarreta also dreamt; incidentally it looks like he is paid to dream! Thanks to all this we are seriously looking at the prospect of seeing what happened last season repeat all over again.
Aug 6, 2013
Does Andoni Zubizarreta deserve to remain Barca's Sporting Director?
Andoni Zubizarreta, the legendary Spanish and FC Barcelona keeper was the choice of Sandro Rosell to head Barca's sporting area. The choice looked pretty reasonable at that time and was deemed to be a sure shot winner for Rosell. Andoni was doing a good job at Athletic Bilbao and his stature as a club legend would have only made it easy to pick him. But after 3 years as Sporting Director one needs to seriously question the wisdom of him continuing in such an important position. In order to go in detail to the issue surrounding Zubi, we first have to really understand what exactly a Sporting director's job is. A "Sporting Director”, more technically phrased "Director of Football" acts as a link between the Board and the Manager. The influence exerted by a Sporting Director varies very much depending on the country. For example in England the Sporting director will be in charge of looking the add-on functionalities in the footballing arena - like setting up facilities, running the academies etc. But the manager will have a bigger say in all other activities like transfers, contracts etc. But this does not hold true in La Liga. Here the manager is expected to focus solely on on-field performances and every other activity like transfers, contracts, performance appraisals, etc. are all done by Sporting director. That was the main reason why Mourinho got Valdano fired as he wasn't getting a say in a lot of club's football related activities.
Aug 3, 2013
Aug 2, 2013
Barca to wear Anna Vives Font Shirts for Gamper Trophy tonight
Both Lionel Messi and Neymar is expected to start and play along with each other in the Joan Gamper trophy match against Santos at Camp Nou tonight. This match also will feature Barca players wearing special shirts with Anna Vives Font on it. The player's name and shirt number will be done in the Anna Vives font; whereas the shirt sponsorship done by Qatar Foundation and UNICEF will feature in usual font. This is done as a result of an agreement between FCB foundation and Fundació Itinerarium. Anna Vives font is designed by Anna Vives, a girl with Down syndrome who has dedicated the year 2012 to approach the world of the letter, working on reading and writing. Andres Iniesta has been associated with this foundation earlier and will give away his shirt for auction after the match. He will also try to rope in as many of his colleagues to donate shirts, so that they could also be auctioned on eBay after the match.
Aug 1, 2013
Jonathan Dos Santos made it Happen; He Stays at Barca!
Perseverance is a big word. An online dictionary defines it as "steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement." or may be more philosophically as "continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.". You still didn't get it, then Look at Jonathan Dos Santos. Yes, the same guy who was told in unequivocal terms last season that he was a surplus to the requirement; one who was referred to by club management as the one who refuses to leave; one whom the then coach Tito Vilanova refused to look up as an option even when injuries were mounting; one who in many Barca fans' opinions was destroying his career by staying at the club against the club wishes; also one who was eating club's money and doing nothing! Oh, yes! I have heard that many times. To be honest Jonathan Dos Santos was not responsible for people arriving at conclusions about him. He wanted to succeed at the club and he wanted to do it on his own terms. So he stayed back, waiting for a call which never arrived; hoping for a chance which went to everyone else. There were instances where Sergi Roberto made it into the squad but Jonathan stayed in the player's box. That was intended to send a firm message to him; he refused to accept. And now at the end, against all odds Jonathan Dos Santos stays. Jesus! it just happened.
Jul 31, 2013
Has UEFA's much fancied Financial Fair Play (FFP) Crash Landed Before it took Off?
UEFA Financial Fair Play(FFP) Regulations, was the much touted idea of UEFA President, Michael Platini to sort out the precarious financial situations in which most of the clubs in Europe find fully immersed in. When introduced as an idea, one have to admit there were a genuine fear about the regulations and many clubs started taking steps to be compliant with the regulations. What are these regulations? Simply put(quoting from Wikipedia), "Only a club’s outgoings in transfers and employee benefits (including wages) will be counted over income from gate receipts, TV revenue, advertising, merchandising, sales of players and prize money is included in the assessment. Any money spent on infrastructure, training facilities or youth development will not be included." Like many football fans, I also believed wrongly that this will get the entire European League back on financial stability. Even though, I did have some reservations about smaller clubs being at a disadvantage. I did write about the same earlier in two of my post which can be found here - and Spending Cap, Is it Fair?.
Jul 30, 2013
Why on Earth would Chelsea sell David Luiz to Barca?
Or, more appropraitely put, Why on earth would Chelsea sell David Luiz to any team? Isn't that an interesting question. In one of my previous post which detailed about Barca's transfer targets, I did indeed raise the same question, about the need for Chelsea to sell a player so integral to them. But none of those reasoning has stopped the Barca press in building this up. Today SPORT has broken a new development in the never ending saga - Bayern is no more interested in the player. Now was Bayern ever interested in the player, one needs to ask the Daily Mail correspondent who created that rumour. SPORT is not to be left behind. So they have reported to day that the negotiations with Chelsea is in advanced stage and an important development will happen this week itself. If that interesting development ends up as an official declaration by Chelsea that the player will not be sold, don't get surprised then. SPORT some days back has put Thiago and Villa in the same boat to Manchester in anticipation of the ship carrying His Highness Wayne Rooney; only to see David Villa jump out and hit the shores at Madrid.
Santiago Vergini is only Emergency Option for Tata Martino
It's still early days in Tata Martino's managerial episode at Barca. Yesterday he over saw his first practice session including most of the Barca players. It was clear from past experience that he would be interested in to hear from players. It's expected that the coach will have one on one meeting with all players; even Dos Santos has put his transfer talk on hold till that completes. There were early expectation that Martino will bring Santiago Vergini as a center choice back up along with him. Now it seems it may not happen like that. Martino has clarified to the management that Santiago Vergini is only his emergency option and the club will be free to sign any defender. If the club fails then he may look up to the Argentinie to fill up the position. This development may have taken place after he had a detailed discussion with Zubi about the progress of different transfer options available to the club. In other words it could also mean that the Sporting Director is confident of bagging David Luiz from Chelsea before the end of the transfer window.
Jul 27, 2013
Introducing AllAboutFCBarcelona Facebook and Google+ Pages
Recently I have started Facebook Page and Google Plus Page for All About FC Barcelona Blog. Do follow both as a lot of information would be shared via them. These two pages make it easy to share normal videos, Photos and other stuffs I find all over the internet of Barca and Barca stars. So keep following them, so that you don't miss any of the good stuffs.
All About FC Barcelona Facebook Page - All About FCB's Facebook Page
All About FC Barcelona Google Plus Page - ALL About FCB's Google Plus Page
Jul 25, 2013
Barca Transfer News : Tata Martino looking to bring Santiago Vergini to FC Barcelona
Tata Martino, the new Barca Manager is reported to be interested in bringing in center-back, Santiago Vergini to Football Club Barcelona. Santiago Vergini is currently playing in Martino's old club Newell's Old Boys. If this is proven correct, then it marks a significant shift in the way we will be looking at reinforcing the defense this summer. It doesn't mean we will stop pursuing Thiago Silva(whom PSG won't sell) or David Luiz (who Mourinho won't sell to us); it only marks that Tata Martino will not wait till the end of the transfer window to find replacements for those two. There is not much exposure about Vergini's defensive abilities, but at 6 feet 3 inch he will add height to the defense, which was once again exposed by Lahm's goal in last nigh friendly. Also he will be very much in line with Martino's playing style and hence may not need time to adapt. He may not be world class; but if we sign him, we will get another body to share the work load.
Barca Pre-Season Friendly - Bayern - 2 : 0 - Barca Highlights
Barca started their Pre-Season officially with a 2-0 defat at the hands of current European Champions, Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
Jul 24, 2013
Tata Martino lands the Barca Job - Is he the Right Man?
Gerardo "Tata" Martino has been officially appointed as Football Club Barcelona's Coach for the next two season. One have to be excused if he end up reading the first line with a familiar expression - "Tata Who?". And it's a fact! No one knew Martino before a week or so. He was virtually unknown to majority of Barca fans and almost whole of the European football fans. Can't blame the fans? You hardly track news about a guy who has never managed anywhere in Europe. Even his Spanish football experience is limited to a single season with Tenerife. In his prime as a player in Argentina, Martino could only muster up a single appearance in the National colours. Hence the virtual anonymity in Europe. Even then he was voted as the Greatest Player of the Newell's Old Boys by their fans. The legendary status is reinforced by taking the club to the top of "Torneo Final" last season. But Why did Barca go with someone who has no experience in Europe and all his success and experience has come in South America?
Jul 23, 2013
Gerardo “Tata” Martino pips Luis Enrique to become Barca Coach
OFFICIAL UPDATE : FC Barcelona has confirmed the appointment of Gerardo Martino as head coach for next two seasons.
Unconfirmed reports are emerging that Barca has finalised on Gerardo "Tata" Martino as the replacement for Tito Vilanova. The club has not openly confirmed these reports and even Martino has confirmed that the final decision is not taken. But when Mundo Deportivo, Sport and Marca all report the same thing, then there has to be a bit of truth in it and above all Graham Hunter has also confirmed the decision. Till yesterday as I wrote Luis Enrique was in prime position to take Barca's coaching job. The biggest disadvantage for Martino against Luis Enrique was the lack of European Cup Competition experience. But looks like the club management wasn't much concerned about that and the late video conference seems to have convinced about his potential. Another issue could have been the 3 million buyout clause for Luis Enrique and Rosell who has been very reluctant to spend might have decided on Martino. On a causal note, with Martino taking charge we will have "TATA replacing TITO".
Jul 22, 2013
Neymar and Messi, Who Said What?
The much anticipated arrival of Neymar to Barca has brought its share of mixed reactions from footballing greats. Here are some of those bordering on the sides of positive and negatives.
"With Neymar on board, I would have planned for the possibility of selling Messi. Some would agree with me and others would not. Neymar's arrival could cause problems. Just look at free kicks for example. Neymar is very good at taking them. And Messi has already shown he is great, too. Who's going to take them. You are talking about a team, its players, the things around it. There are too may things at stake. That's why it's so difficult to manage such a top class squad. Neymar is talented, but we will have to wait and see how he gets along with the rest of the squad. I would not have taken the risk of bringing in Neymar." - Johan Cryuff
Luis Enrique in Prime Position to become Barca First Team Coach
Former Football Club Barcelona player and B team coach Luis Enrique is widely expected to replace Tito Vilanova as first team coach. Currently the Spaniard is managing La Liga side Celta de Vigo, and has a 3 million buy-out clause. Barca management is ready to buy him from Celta and the initial report is that the Celta may not oppose such a move. There are also rumours that current assistant coach, Joan Francesc Ferrer popularly known as Rubi may be allowed to join Celta in a deal. From Barca's footballing and management perspective, Luis Enrique presents a safe choice. The Spaniard was in charge of the Barca B time which won promotion to the second division, no mean task considering the age of our squad. His later stint at Roma wasn't successful; but there is no denial that he will be very comfortable in our way of playing and also the players. Already we are hearing that Jonathan Do Santos has asked his agent to put his transfer to Real Soceidad on hold Luis Enrique was his manager at Barca B.
Jul 20, 2013
Tito Vilanova Steps Down as Barca Manager
Football Club Barcelona's president Sandro Rosell has announced that current first team coach Tito Vilanova will step down from his position immediately following a relapse of the tumor. A routine check up had revealed a relapse of his illness and for now Tito can now focus on the treatment of his illness fully. The last two years has been very difficult for him as he had to handle the first team activities while fighting a serious illness. Even though it's sad to see a manager leaving at a critical point in the transfer window; but it's essential for Tito not to be burdened with anything else.
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