FC Barcelona Begins Title Defense at Santander

Defending La Liga Champions, FC Barcelona will start their title defense with an away visit to El Sardinero. The first home match for Barca will be on the 12th of September against newly promoted Hércules. The season is sure to get interesting with a visit to Vicente Calderón to face Atletico Madrid on Matchday 3. Barca is sure to have a tough October and November with Valencia's visit to Camp Nou on October 17th, followed with a clashes with Zaragoza, Sevilla, Getafe and Villareal. The much anticipated first leg of El Clasico will be on November 28th with a Real Madrid visiting Camp Nou. The second El Clasico of the season will be held on April 17 (Matchday 32) at Bernebeu. Meanwhile our fierce rival Real Madrid will begin their campaign with a visit to Mallorca on Matchday 1.

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Adriano Correia Signs For Barca

FC Barcelona has completed the signing of Adriano Correia from Sevilla for 9.5 Million Euros. There is an additional 4 Million Euros that has to be paid to Sevillas depending on a variety of objectives. Adriano signed the deal which will keep him at the club for four year today and will be presented as a Barca player on Monday. This is the second signing done by Barca this season and looks like a very wise choice. This guy can play as both left back and right back and also if needed as a winger in midfield. The buyout clause for Adriano is set at 90 Million Euros.

Who is Responsible for the Zlatan Debacle?

The jury is still out on whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a success last season. With 21 goals and 10 assist, anywhere else in the World Ibrahimovic would have been celebrated as a huge success. But when you have a price tag of 70 Million, the highest in the club's history, may be those figures are not simply good enough. The stats are pretty good when you compare with other strikers all over the planet, but still Ibra cannot be termed anywhere near as a success. Especially when a previously discarded( by Guardiola) kid, Bojan Krkic manages to replace you easily at the most crucial juncture of the season. Maybe the ridiculous prize tag associated with him is the one acting heavily against him, something I highlighted in an earlier post - Bojan Krkic Could Be the Key. But when the newly appointed financial Vice-President, rightly questions the amount spent in acquiring the star, you have to be in trouble. Suddenly the Barcelona based media houses Sport and El Mundo Deportivo both are raising the same question. Kind of strange, ain't it? About an year ago the same media houses were bringing out crazy statistics to justify the amount paid for the Swede!!! At that time also I clearly thought that Laporta has Gone Crazy agreeing for such a deal.

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Iniesta's Boot Raises 100,000 Euros

The boot with which Iniesta scored his famous goal at Stamford Bridge has raised 100,000 Euros for the treatment of Javier, a child with Cerebral Palsy. The funds were raised via a Lottery held by the Javier's family, but now its been learned that the winner has not yet claimed his/her's prize. The winning ticket was sold in Hellín, a town and municipality located in the south of the province of Albacete, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The lottery was held on the 18th of November. Javier's aunt contacted Iniesta's family to return the boot, but they informed her that they can continue to give the boot out. Now with the winner not coming forward to claim their coveted prize, the family have the option of auctioning the boots. With Iniesta's fame skyrocketing following his World Cup winner, this could be the ideal time to auction the boots and raise money.

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Thierry Henry Leaves on Free; Guardiola Extends contract

FC Barcelona have confirmed that they have released Thierry henry for Free. Thierry Henry will be now signing for Ney York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer on Thursday. Earlier Henry has placed a request to Barca management to release him for free. FC Barcelona signed the French maestro for 24 Million Euros in 2007. Eventhough his first season was rather dissappointing, he played a huge part in the all conquering season of 2008-09. Henry made the switch from Arsenal to Barcelona to fulfil his dream of winning the Champions league. He leaves the club with the satisfaction of fulfilling his dream and also getting involved in the historic 6-2 defeat of Real Madrid at Bernebeu. That match was his best performance on a Blaugrana jersey.

Meanwhile Pep Guardiola has extended his contract by one more year as expected.