To understand the rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid you must travel back to the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of Francesco Franco that followed the war. In July of 1936 Franco led a coup against The Second Spanish Republic that had been in power since 1931. During the following Spanish Civil War, Catalonia became the center of Socialist thought and Barcelona became the capitol of the Spanish Republican (People’s) Army that opposed Franco’s Spanish Nationalist Army. … [Read more...]
El Clasico Preview
Barcelona's trip to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday needs little introduction. The La Liga leaders travel to Real Madrid with a four-point lead over their fiercest rivals, and boasting an unbeaten record in the league so far this season. Adding to the intensity of this already fraught fixture is the prospect that Luis Suarez could make his debut for the Catalan club, following a lengthy ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini in Uruguay's World Cup win over Italy way back in June. … [Read more...]
10 of the best Messi moments from his Barca decade
Lionel Messi celebrates 10 years since making his full Barcelona debut this week, having broken all sorts of records in the decade in between. His career has been littered with trophies, goals, scintillating play and the occasional bit of heartbreak. However, here are 10 of the moments that stand out most of all. Debut vs Espanyol The world was shown its first glimpse of Messi on this day ten years ago, when the 17-year-old was sent on by Frank Rijkaard in the La Liga game against Espanyol. Messi had come a long way to make his debut, despite becoming the youngest Barca player to appear in La … [Read more...]
Rayo Vallecano v Barcelona match report
Luis Enrique’s men continued their winning ways against an eventual 9-man Vallecano side. The Catalans scored 2 goals within 78 seconds of each other to secure their 6th win of the season. A lovely lob by Lionel Messi meant the visitors went in front after 35 minutes. He is now within two goals of the all-time Spanish goal scoring league record held by Telmo Zarra at 251 strikes. … [Read more...]
Barcelona v Granada Preview
Barcelona come into Saturday`s fixture unbeaten in La Liga and have yet to concede a single goal after five outings. This opening certainly seems impressive on paper, however the Catalans received heavy criticism in midweek for failing to register a goal against Malaga at La Rosaleda. A rather limp header from Gerard Piqué was as close as they came to breaching Kameni`s goal in a game where the home side put on a masterful defensive display. … [Read more...]
La Liga Team of the Week
It was a Match-Round blessed with so many goals, with only one game, the clash at the San Mames between Athletic Club and visitors Granada the only fixture to produce less than two goals. It’s therefore not a surprise that most of our picks for the Team of the Round either scored, assisted, or had a hand in their side’s goals. … [Read more...]
FC Barcelona v Malaga – a brief history
As far as bogey teams go, this fixture takes some beating. Barcelona face Malaga tonight looking to continue their good start to the season, and will be confident of victory having won their last 12 games against them in the league. Malaga have beaten Barcelona just twice in their history, but not for over 10 years, failing to win a point against them since. Here is a brief history of the fixture. 3/12/03 Malaga 5-1 Barcelona Perhaps the result is overstated as Barca were waiting to welcome Real Madrid in the Clasico, but Juande Ramos' Malaga tore a fragile defence apart on an unforgettable … [Read more...]
Five players who will bring Spain success again
Despite a disastrous World Cup, Spain played their first competitive game since failing miserably in Brazil by defending their European Championships crown. Vicente del Bosque fielded a side vastly different from the World Cup as retirements and injuries kept those who had represented Spain during their golden era out. There was a modicum of pressure on some of the players ahead of the home qualifier against Macedonia, especially as Spain had lost to France in a friendly beforehand, but the side stood up to the test in a half-empty Ciutat de Valencia stadium to win 5-1. Of those new players, … [Read more...]
What the Transfer Ban means for Barcelona
With the 2014 summer transfer window closed, Barcelona’s transfer ban is in effect and the club will not be able to sign any new players till January 2016. With the fast start of academy players like Munir and Sandro combined with the summer signings and departure of numerous players, the club and some pundits claim the team will not be affected by the inability to sign new players and will be able to continue to contend for trophies. However, in football nothing is ever predictable and secure and as such the seriousness of the transfer ban needs to be understood. … [Read more...]
Close game predicted between Barcelona and Villareal
This evening (6pm GMT) sees Villareal C.F take on last season`s runners-up FC Barcelona Both sides are coming off impressive victories in Jornada 1. Starting with the hosts, let`s take a look at how their squads are shaping up coming into a tie that produced 5 goals and some thrilling action last year. … [Read more...]