With the absence of Toure Yaya and Samuel Eto'o, Marquez still says there's no cause for alarm.


Rafa Marquez has a big heart and this is when he wants to show it. With injury rocking the Barca squad, though now on a lighter scale due to returning players back from injury, another dimension of loss has come in the form of players committed to their countries as the African players in the first team leave to play for their national teams in the African Cup of Nations starting on January 20, 2008. Toure Yaya has already joined his country mates for the La Cote 'd Ivoire national team, while Samuel Eto'o is fully booked for the Cameroonians. Despite this, Marquez says:

The team should be concerned about winning, about the way it plays, and not think so much about who’s playing and who’s not.

Marquez praised the skills and contribution made by both Toure and Eto'o. Marquez will surely be happy to have them back at Camp Nou as soon as possible. The Mexican believed that Edmilson can fill the gap left by Toure Yaya in linking the midfield. Barca strikers like Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic will surely play well at any given day, along with the great in-form display from Iniesta and the likes of Giovani dos Santos and Eidur Gudjohnsen.


FC Barcelona's next match is in the Copa del Rey against defending champions Sevilla. The match takes place on January 09. Kick-off time is 22:00 hours local time. This is the first leg and will be hosted by Sevilla.

Marc Ingla is all positive about issues in FC Barcelona.


FC Barcelona's vice-president, Marc Ingla spoke to the media on issues concerning Barca and the team coach Frank Rijkaard, as well as Ronaldinho's saga and recent developments surrounding the Brazilian. Ingla didn't hide his happiness over the return of French goal king Thierry Henry, while maintaining a positive outlook on things for the Catalan club. Ingla believes that Barca will win trophies, as this is the only true measure of a club's success. Ingla spoke firstly on coach Frank Rijkaard, saing that the entire board was happy with the Dutchman:

A debate on coaches is not necessary for now. We are happy with Frank because he has produced attractive football with a good balance, that he himself introduced. A certain anxiety does exist, as we are all looking forward to win trophies this season. Results are important, as they are what will be used to measure success.

On Ronaldinho's absence and injury, Ingla said:

Rijkaard is the one who should decide and I will never interfere in the technical side. Ronaldinho is a very important player in Barcelona and seeing him back in full fitness will be a thing of delight. We are midway through the season and are focussed on the campaign. The debate about him is always disproportionate and we saw before el Clásico that all the talk was about him and not the team. The press is putting too much pressure on Ronnie and this is a distraction for him.

Praising Thierry Henry and clearly happy to see the Frenchman return to full fitness with blazes shown against Mallorca over the weekend, Ingla beamed:

Thierry Henry is in great form and it was such a great joy to see him back in the team and play well against Mallorca. It is also commendable that he stopped playing when he had a problem for the sake of the team. It was great to see him back on Saturday with that spark and speed.

FC Barcelona defender, Rafa Marquez speaks exclusively on important issues after his return from injury.


The Mexican defender sheds more light on the Barca defence, saying that more work needs to be done at the rear end. Marquez also pleads for patience as he believes the Blaugrana will surely intergrate in full and become the team fans hope to see. Rafa Marquez also talks on coach Frank Rijkaard. Read more about Marquez:



Exclusive Interview With FC Barcelona's Rafael Marquez

Some words of encouragement from the disappointed Barca stars after the unexpected draw against Valladolid.


FC Barcelona players have confessed they met an unusually tough Valladolid side. The bottom placed team have been known to prove hard nuts to crack against big teams like Barca and Real Madrid who they have both acted as spoilers by forcing draws against them both, and even creating good chances to have won both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The players bore their minds in their post-match press conference:


Ronaldinho:

I am pleased with the goal. It would have been better if we had got the three points though. Every player needs to score. Scoring again and getting into my rhythm was positive. I hope to maintain this level for a long time. Little by little I am getting my form back and I am happy to be playing better as each game goes by. It is a shame we didn’t win. We had a good first half and in the second we struggled a little bit more. We created occasions like a shot onto the post and a penalty, I think we had chances to win the game.

Xavi Hernández:

We will be seeking to change this dynamic in away games. We have to achieve more because it is important for us to win the league title. If we work this way the results will come. Bojan is a dynamic player, he is fast and scores goals. They were more aggressive, especially in the second half. In the first half we played well, created pressure up front and the goal came from that. We have to keep this attitude up and be more effective up front.

Sylvinho:

It was a hard game. Although they are not doing well in the table, Valladolid are a side that know how to play football and their first goal made things hard for us. We needed to be clearer about our ideas. We have lost two important points but we were playing a difficult team at a difficult ground. It is a shame we went behind so early but we did manage to turn things around. We needed to be a bit more aggressive. The opposition seemed comfortable. I haven’t played for a long time so I was really up for it. I need to get into the rhythm of playing matches but on a personal level I was happy.

Bojan Krkic:

The draw is a pity but it was still a draw away from home. We have to stay calm and think about Sunday. We shouldn’t worry about other teams, just about ourselves. This is the tenth match. Little by little the results will start coming.

Barca official defends Ronaldinho, predicts mercurial performance


FC Barcelona's technical Director, Txiki Begiristain has expressed total confidence in Ronaldinho's ability, pointing out that the huge expectations from the Brazilian was a testament to his outstanding qualities and skills. The director also linked the pressure on Barca players to perform to the huge fan base the Catalan club has, in a way of saying to whom much is given much is expected! The FC Barcelona fan base has been rapidly expanding, and as many as 160 million football followers world wide have heard of or have watched live coverage of Barca's matches over the years, especially in recent times. On Ronaldinho, Txiki says:

Ronaldinho's will to succeed is massive and unrivaled. It's hard to see players with such drive and determination. Indeed, we shall see much more of him very soon and watch the magic he often produces on the pitch. I have no doubts as to Ronnie's ability and huge talent.

Speaking on the fanbase and expectations from supporters, Txiki says:

The fanbase is demanding, but faithful. It's Barcelona's greatness that shows, because people applaud if it's good, and if the fans aren't happy, it shows. But the most important thing is that people come to watch us expecting to see great things, and that's down to players like Ronaldinho. But the fans must watch the whole. A team doesn't revolve around just one player. Responsibility is distributed a lot more. So, we need to have a mindset not based around thinking of one player.