Barca's vice-captain is confident of marching on past defending champions Sevilla and to the next stage of the Copa Del Rey.


Xavi spoke after the colourful match in which the hosts, Sevilla went down to an 24th minute goal by Thierry Henry before struggling to draw 1-1 before the match ended. Xavi also joined Puyol in warning the press about disrespecting Ronaldinho and Deco. Read more:


FC Barcelona's Xavi: We Are 60 Percent Through.

Anderson Deco is in opposition to the Dutchman, Frank Rijkaard's proposed plan to save Ronnie for the Champions league and use Bojan Krkic in Ronnie's place.


The injured Portuguese international spoke from injury, saying that he is not in support of plans to rest Ronaldinho ahead of the forthcoming Champions League matches next week. The logic is that if the tired Ronaldinho should rest and not play against Recreativo Huelva, the Brazilian will be very fit to unleash mayhem at Barca's opponents in Europe. Deco however, feels that Ronnie should be used to unleash mayhem both locally and internationally, starting with Huelva in the La Liga. Deco says:

Although there are good reasons to rest Ronnie, I think it's not a good idea due to the mental pressure it will add on him, especially as there's already a lot of news and hearsay about his status in Barca. If Ronaldinho is left out because a tactical change or rested with one eye on the next game then there will be more speculation. If you do that with other players I am not sure, but with Ronaldinho many people would think it was a punishment of some kind.

Deco makes comparism with his own experience:

It has happened to me when the coach left me out of the squad and straight away everyone was wondering if it was a punishment. The coach had already come to me and told me that it was not a punishment at all and was simply a matter of giving me a rest ahead of an important game coming up.

After a stiff last season, Deco bounces back into full action.


A surge in form by Portuguese international Deco has made the Barca star the latest nightmare for opponents of the Blaugrana. An analysis of Deco's game, his goal and his new role in pushing up the Catalan giants:


Dangerous Deco Revels In Newfound Form.

Deco votes Lionel Messi as world player of the year.


FC Barcelona's engine room, Deco Anderson has not made any pretences about his team mate, Lionel Messi being his preferred candidate for the world Player of The Year Award. Deco believes players like Kaka are not necessarily better than Messi. The Portuguese also rebukes the press for what he calls a personal attack on Brazilian superstar, Ronaldinho. Read full details below:


Deco: Messi Is Golden Ball Winner.

For Deco, it's not a case of too little too early for Barcelona.


Three matches. Two draws. Five points. Fourth position on the league table. Four points away from the league leaders. All these are the current picture of FC Barcelona's campaign in the 2007/ 08 Spanish Primera but Deco Anderson still believes there's no cause for alarm. The reasons being put forward by the Portuguese star is evdient. The season is just beginning and there are lots of many more matches to be played. Barca have had new players and are adapting. The squad is strengthening and in the process of attaining its best. Deco presents his case:

It’s a long season and trying to draw conclusions so early on isn’t good. There’s no need to get desperate about things. We were just missing a bit of definition up front. We know we have to work hard to put that right, which is what we are doing in training. Teams just defend well and try and hit us on the break. We’re looking to build a team that doesn’t allow the opponents to create many chances and is more aggressive in attack. That’s what we are working towards.

Deco won't mind leading the crusade against forgiving and forgetting the past misdaventures for the Blaugrana, and has once again, warned for the second time in two weeks that continuous reference should not be made to past failures, especially the 2006/07 season. The Portuguese star also uses the opportunity to speak on forth coming matches and Barca's preparedness, starting with the match against Olympique Lyon:

We can’t keep looking backwards, let’s analyse, criticise if need be and talk about this season .We just have to concentrate on our game. If we’re worried about them already, we might as well not even turn up. We have a lot of important matches ahead of us in the Champions league, the La Liga among others. It’s a tough week coming up, with Lyon, Seville and Zaragoza all visiting the Nou Camp, but Deco was upbeat about the prospect. Sure it’s going to be hard work, but we have to be up for winning them all.

The media raised dust over Barcelona's coach Frank Rijkaard's substituition of Brazilian star Ronaldinho in the match against Osasuna, after the midfielder was replaced with Xavi in the 66th minute. The reason was simply due to heavy playing scedule on the Brazilian and the need to avoid over-use of the player:

Ronaldinho played in both Brazil’s games and is one of the players who had to travel furthest for his international games. The boss has to think not only about winning the game in hand, but also about the next one and just how tired his players are . That’s not an easy job.