Barcelona boss Tata Martino has jumped to the defence of star player Lionel Messi, saying that recent criticism had affected his confidence. Messi has experienced, by his incredibly high standards, a crisis of late. Famed for his dribbling and finishing, he hadn't scored a La Liga goal from open play since September of last year. A recurrent hamstring injury accounted for two of those months, but some fans, from Barcelona and beyond, were questioning if he would get back to his best. A double blow came last month, when Messi missed out on the Ballon D'or to his arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo, … [Read more...]
Barcelona Go Top Of La Liga
There is a three way tie at the top of La Liga. Barcelona now lead by virtue of goal difference in the most exciting championship race of the century. Atletico Madrid had been top by three points, their first time on top in eighteen years, but their form has dipped since the new year. On Saturday, they slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat at lowly Almeria. Goalkeeper Dani Aranzubia saw red with four minutes left. Midfielder Gabi put the gloves on but couldn't keep out the penalty from Verza. It was a brace from the Spanish midfielder that sunk Diego Simeone's men. Real Madrid had earlier gained a 4-2 … [Read more...]
Shock Defeat For Barcelona
Barcelona suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at home to Valencia last night, and threw the La Liga title race wide open. Barcelona went into the game on top of the league, but on a sticky run of form. They had won just one out of three in the Primera Division, but were still red hot favourites against a mid table Valencia side. It seemed like business as usual on 7 minutes when Alexis Sanchez scored what only be described as a fortuitous goal. Valencia refused to lie down, they equalised just before half time through Parejo. Three minutes after the break, Los Che took the lead, Piatti outjumping Dani … [Read more...]
Messi ‘not for sale’, but the vultures are circling
After a turbulent week for Barcelona, new club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has had to publicly announce that Lionel Messi is not for sale. Bartomeu stepped into the void when previous president Sandro Rossell resigned over a forthcoming court appearance relating to the misappropriation of funds from the Neymar transfer deal. Rossell denies all charges, but now a larger shadow is looming – could Barca be on the brink of losing their star player? Last summer, Messi was linked with the champions of Europe, Bayern Munich. Any interest was quickly slapped down, but the German giants lay waiting … [Read more...]
Barcelona Back On Top
Barcelona pulled off a three nil victory at home to Malaga yesterday, to return to the summit of La Liga. It is very much a three horse race now, with Barca holding the slenderest of leads. It has been a turbulent week for Barcelona following the resignation of club president Sandro Rossell. Rossell is strenuously fighting allegations that he profited from the signing of Neymar, but the club will be glad to be concentrating on passing on the field rather than passing the buck. Messi, as always, was the architect of the win. His dazzling dribbles caught Malaga out time after time, and he set up … [Read more...]
Levante 1-4 Barcelona
Cristian Tello grabbed a hat-trick as Barcelona romped to a 4-1 away victory over Levante in last night's Copa Del Rey quarter final first leg. Arsenal target Tello may have persuaded Arsene Wenger to prise open his purse strings as he put on a fine display, ably assisted by Lionel Messi. It sounds strange to say after a team mate scores three, but the mercurial Mess was my man of the match. He tore the home side apart at every opportunity and laid on all three goals for Tello. It was Levante who took the lead. Nabir El Zhar scored after 31 minutes to have Levante fans dreaming of victory. … [Read more...]
Lionel Messi: “I’m Barcelona For Life”
Lionel Messi gave Barcelona fans a late Epiphany present by saying that he intends to spend the rest of his career at the club. The global superstar returned from injury in spectacular style on Wednesday night, jumping off the bench to score two goals in a four-nil Copa del Rey win over Getafe. Speaking at a press conference yesterday the mini maestro said: “I want to retire here. While people want me I want to spend my whole career at FC Barcelona.” This is music to the ears of the Barcelonistas. It seems incredible but there had been talk of a rift between the club and their star player, … [Read more...]
Messi Returns With A Bang
Lionel Messi made his much anticipated return to the Barcelona team last night and, as expected, he returned with a bang – scoring two goals in Barca's 4-0 victory over Getafe in the Copa del Rey. Some experts had speculated that Messi might start last night's game but, as predicted here on La Liga Blog, he began on the substitutes bench. Gerardo Martino waited until the 63rd minute to send the Argentine maestro on as a substitute for Andres Iniesta but when he did the atmosphere at the Camp Nou lifted. It was the ideal moment for his return. Barcelona were already two nil up by this point … [Read more...]
Messi To Make His Comeback Against Getafe
Lionel Messi makes another step on the comeback trail tonight when he takes his place in the Barcelona squad for their Copa del Rey clash against Luis Garcia Plaza's Getafe side. Arguably the world's greatest footballer (although a certain Real Madrid player may beg to differ), Messi has been missing from action since picking up a thigh injury during a 4-1 victory over Real Betis in November. Many people wondered how Barcelona would cope without their talisman but Neymar and Pedro have stepped up to the plate in wonderful fashion. Nonetheless the Barcelonistas will be ecstatic to see the … [Read more...]
Barcelona’s battle with Lionel Messi
Synonymous with the beloved name of Barcelona around the world, Lionel Messi has set the benchmark over the years for what has been the most successful period in the Catalonia club’s history. Yet, the most obvious question is still queried daily among the followers of Europe’s most prestigious of clubs, how would Barca fare without their superstar ‘false 9’? The re-occurrence of another hamstring injury has resulted in Messi not being available for Barcelona for up to 2 months. Not only is the hamstring injury becoming associated with Messi more frequently, the fact that it ceases to let up … [Read more...]