Real Betis vs Barca Preview

Guardiola had made it clear to his players that he is not going to accept any excuses about International duty for any below par performnace against Real Betis. FC Barcelona will be looking to notch up a eleventh consecutive victory when they play Betis tonight. FC barcelona would not be with their influential captain Puyol; Guardiola has very wisely decided against risking his captain. This means Marquez has to hold the defense tonight after returning back from North America. And Guardiola has made it clear that he don't want to hear any excuse of Jet lag or International duties. Guardiola has announced the squad for tonight - Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Marquez, Piqué, Caceres, Abidal, Sylvinho, Toure, Busquets, Xavi, Keita, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Hleb, Messi, Bojan, Eto'o, Henry. Keita is back after the injury and could feature in the starting line up tonight. In the last match against Betis at Camp Nou we won with a narrow margin after spectacularly Barca managing to throw away the game.

Xavi would be equalling the Charly Rexach's record for second most first team appearance for Barca, if he gets a chance to play tonight. Valdes will be the regular goal keeper. Alves, Pique, Marquez and Abidal would be expected to form the defense. Xavi, Toure and Keita is expected to form the midfield. I expect Henry to start from bench tonight, that means Iniesta will occupy the left, with Eto in centre and Messi on the right. It is essential to play Iniesta in tonight's match as it will continue his return back to fitness and form. Betis are lying at 14th currently but at home this could become a tricky challenge for Barca. But if we manage to win here that will put enormous pressure on Madrid as they have to win to keep their title hopes alive.

Eto Walking On A Tight Rope

Eto reportedly is stalling any progress on his contract negotiation with FC Barcelona. Eto's contract is set to expire by end of June, 2010 and both the parties involved wants to extend it further. Then what is stalling the process? It is reported that Eto has demanded the club to make him on par with Lionel Messi in terms of wages. According to www.futebolfinance.com that might be a whooping 7.5 million Euros. I am pretty sure that the club will not concede into paying him on par with the "Best Player in the World"; even Eto knows it. So all this is to get a bigger price for his current form. FC Barcelona could be in a confused state, they may not be clear about the approach to be taken over here. Eto was clearly an unwanted element as far as Guardiola was concerned at the start of the season. But he remarkably turned things around and got the confidence of both the fans and coach back. The club have resisted the temptation to declar public interest in the likes of Benzema and Villa due to the Cameroonian's tremendous form.

Hopefully Eto and Barca can reach an agreement pretty soon. But if they fail then we could see FC Barcelona pushing hard for Benzema and Villa, or may be even Torres. But the fact remains that Eto was the best striker in the world for some time. He is not the one who will do unbelievable stunts to change the course of the match; but he will put the ball back in the net again and again. What you need more from a striker? Especially with the way Barca play a striker like Eto is essential; but if he decides to move on who should be the best option? It has to be either Villa or Tevez, they both are compulsive poachers. Many clubs has recently stated about their interest in signing him, most notably Mourinho's Inter Milan. But this hold could be a temporary hold and we could soon receive the good news of Eto extending the contract beyond 2010. Mean while MundoDeportivo has covered a story where they claim that Bojan Krkic has rejected an option for winter transfer to Hoffenheim, Ajax and Marseille. I don't know whether this is true but sound to be good news. All the best to the kid.

FC Barcelona in India

Joan Laporta touched down in Bangalore on the early hours of Thursday, en route to Ananthapur. Mr.Laporta has arrived in India to formally inaugurate the FC Barcelona Academy, at Bathlapalli - the first in Asia which has been operational for more than a year. He also will be laying foundation stone for a branch of the academy in Atmakur on Friday. The Bathlapalli centre is operational with about 100 kids, all aged between 6 to 16 years. Laporta said that "It's our contribution to the social integration of some of the most disadvantaged children. We aim to provide education in computer science, English and mathematics. We also provide sports training and nutrition. We're using football as a tool to better the lives of the less fortunate." The branch at Atmakur is expected to be operational from January, 2010. Both ventures are partnered by the Rural Development Trust (RDT), an Anantapur-based NGO.

There hasn't been too much hype about his arrival. I was also pleasantly surprised to see his interview in two of the elading newspapers - The Hindu and The Times of India. The lack of interest is pretty normal in India where football is not as popular as Cricket. But the new generation with the access to Cable Television, are very much interested in Football. But the interest is more towards EPL, because of that only Lampard was voted as the most creative midfielder bu Goal.com Indian fans. Lampard is a great midfielder who can score but I don't think that creating scoring chances is not one attribute that you associate with him. FC Barcelona has been avoiding India for long, and it is really heartening to see Barca taking interest in India. I would seriously love to see the FC Barcelona team tour the sub-continent in near future. To take the sport to the people we need to have more involvement from the higgest clubs in Europe at the highest level. What I mean by the highest level is that we need the stars to come to India to wake up the interest. In India, Football is popular in Kerala, West Bengal, Goa, Sikkim and in the Urban centres. Hope the visit of Laporta brings more attention to the game in India and more attention to India in FC Barcelona.