Getafe will be the first test for Barca after the Blaugrana declared winning away matches their new top priority.


Coach Frank Rijkaard is confident that FC Barcelona stop dropping vital away points from the Getafe match, which the Dutchman sees as a must-win match for the Catalan giants. Barca remain second in the La Liga table and a point behind leaders Real Madrid. Were Barca not to have dropped vital away points, the Blaugrana would have been a distant first ahead of all other teams. Rijkaard says of the forthcoming match:

We are well organised and that the side is working well. Now all we need to do is make the difference by scoring goals at the other end.

On Getafe team itself, Rijkaard says:

They are playing well at home. They have not let in many goals and they are well organised and, lately, they have found some form. It will be an interesting game because they want to continue their run and we want to win too.

Read more as well as Rijkaard's analysis of the Henry-Ronladinho-Messi trio:


Getafe - FC Barcelona: Coach Rijkaard's Pre-Match Comments.

The visitors to Cam Nou are often timid and shy, but Real Betis feel they have secured the right to banish such fears as they consider the feared stadium their own domain too.


Real Betis man, Fernando Vega has indicated that the general feeling in FC Barcelona is to upset their hosts, FC Barcelona in tonight’s La Liga cracker at Camp Nou. Betis are not really in contention for top honours at the La Liga with the likes of Barca, Madrid and Sevilla, but want to make themselves official spoilers for the Catalan giants after being pointed at as the major cause of Barca’s failure to win the trophy last season with a last minute draw at Camp Nou which gave Real Madrid great advantage to overtake Barca at the top of the table. Vega now says:

We got a good result last year and we believe we can do the same again this year. We know that we did not play on Wednesday, but we are only thinking about Barcelona. They have so many players that can decide a game and we have to try and leave as little space as possible. We want to give Barcelona another tough match ands come away with at least one point at the end of the day.

FC Barcelona want to defeat Real Betis today at Camp Nou in order to close the gap between the Blaugrana and the Catalan giants which has extended to four points.

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.

Return of awesome threesome lifts Barca's spirit.



A big boost has come to the FC Barcelona squad today as they face Almeria at Camp Nou, with three key players returning from injury. The players are Rafa Marquez, Toure Yaya and Gianluca Zambrotta. Màrquez has quickened his recovery period to 25 days after suffering a soleus muscle injury in his right leg he suffered during the first few minutes of the Stuttgart-Barça game in the Champions League. Touré injured his femoral biceps in his left leg near the end of the Levante-Barça match four weeks ago, while Zambrotta was the second player after Samuel Eto’o to suffer a muscular injury. On the 26th of September, the Italian got a right leg calf injury in the 20th minute of the 4-1 victory over Zaragoza, which has kept him out of the team for 32 days.


Márquez and Zambrotta have missed three league games through injury, and Touré didn’t play in the Barça-Atlético Madrid clash or last Saturday’s fixture in the Madrigal stadium. Despite this, Touré is number eight in the list of those who have played most match minutes, Zambrotta tenth and Márquez thirteenth.


The inclusion of the three in the squad meant the exclusion of Lilian Thuram, Marc Crosas and Santi Ezquerro from the squad to face Almeria today in the La Liga match. The complete squad as named by coach Frank Rijkaard include:


Valdés, Jorquera, Sylvinho, Abidal, Zambrotta, Puyol, Milito, Oleguer, Touré Yaya, Iniesta, Xavi, Márquez, Ronaldinho, Giovani, Messi, Gudjohnsen, Bojan and Henry.


The match against Almeria on 28 October starts at 19:00 hours ( GMT + 1 ). The venue is Camp Nou.

Real Madrid's Ramon Calderon and company are pulling strings behind the contract negotiation curtain.


Real Madrid have once again surfaced on the contract talks between Giovani dos Santos and FC Barcelona, as the Madrid side are reportedly putting unseen pressure on the 18 year-old sensation to consider joining the Los Merengues instead of signing a new contract with Barca. Some English clubs like Manchester United are also interested in signing Giovani. Dos Santos has a release clause of 20 Million Euros in his current contract with Barca, and Madrid want to make this payment to the Catalan giants in exchange for Giovani. Barca are not going to accept this, and are instead, considering a new contract with a much higher release clause for the Mexican, which could reach as high as 70 Million Euros.
Giovani is not ready to leave FC Barcelona and wants to stay in Camp Nou along with his friend and fellow teenager, Bojan Krkic. Both sensation have grown through the Barca B side and are set to explode in the La Liga with the FC Barcelona senior team.