Since the 1950's Spanish football has been thoroughly dominated by just two clubs – Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The knock-out format of cup competitions may throw up a surprise winner here and there but La Liga has for a long time been considered a two-horse race. These two clubs have won Spain's Primera Division 52 times between them, with Real's 31 championships leading the way. Barca however just pip Real on total tournament wins with 75 and hold all the current bragging rights, with their recent tournament wins setting them apart in Spain, Europe and the World. So it's no surprise that … [Read more...]
Away-day syndrome: Why Barcelona have struggled on the road this season
A 1-1 draw meant Barcelona surrendered yet another valuable two points at the hands of their local rivals Espanyol on Monday night making it already their fifth draw of the domestic season with four of them being away from home. The gap between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the table has now stretched to a worrying five points for Pepe Guardiola's men and with games coming thick and fast and time seemingly running out for the Catalonians, we ask the much debated question; exactly why have Barcelona struggled to break teams down on the road this season? … [Read more...]
Barca way behind in pre-season preparations
Even the most seasoned of pundits will tell you not to pay too much attention to a side's pre-season friendly results when formulating a prediction for their season. However, the over-whelming success for Barcelona recently has meant this rule has now kind of become exempt in a city where fans are accustomed to success and with two defeats on the bounce to Manchester United and Chivas, Barcelona boss Pepe Guardiola now faces a balancing act if he wishes his players to be ready for their opening away clash against big spending Malaga on the 21st August. … [Read more...]
Six ways to get your football team playing like Barcelona
It's no lie that Barcelona are the envy of the footballing world right now. Apart from their contingent of world class players, renowned youth set-up and decorated history, their unique brand of attractive passing football is what has made Pepe Guardiola's men such a pleasure to watch in recent times. … [Read more...]
La Liga Transfer Latest
Proceedings are well and truely under way in this summer's La Liga transfer window and some clubs notably Malaga are already showing the colour of their money with some lucrative additions to their squad this month. In this feature, La Liga Blog scours online Spanish football site Marca and analyses the pick of this week's transfer news and gossip. … [Read more...]
Can United stop Barca?
With the 2-0 triumph of Barcelona in yesterday's heated El Clasico encounter, it seems all but certain that Pepe Guardiola's men will make next month's Champions League final, most likely to face fellow semi-finalists Man United as they themselves were 2-0 victors away at Schalke in their first-leg clash on Tuesday. … [Read more...]
Barcelona to face Port Vale in pre-season friendly
The youngsters of English League Two outfit Port Vale will have a dream opportunity to pit their wits against the likes of Lionel Messi, David Villa and Andreas Iniesta when they face Barcelona in a pre-season friendly this July. The lucrative friendly was secured by Port Vale when Pepe Guardiola's Barcelona needed a place to train before an upcoming friendly tournament with Manchester United. … [Read more...]