Barcelona in 3rd Place

		PL	W	D	L	+/-	Points
1	Real Madrid	36	26	3	7	45	81
2	Villarreal	36	22	5	9	19	71
3	Barcelona	36	18	10	8	32	64
4	Atletico de Madrid	36	18	7	11	20	61
5	Sevilla	36	18	4	14	21	58
6	Racing Santander	36	16	8	12	0	56
7	Mallorca	36	13	14	9	13	53
8	Deportivo de la Coruña	36	15	7	14	2	52
9	Athletic Club	36	13	10	13	0	49
10	U.D Almeria	36	13	10	13	-3	49
11	Espanyol	36	13	9	14	-6	48
12	Real Betis Balompié	36	12	10	14	-4	46
13	Getafe C.F	36	12	9	15	-4	45
14	Valencia	36	13	6	17	-20	45
15	Valladolid	36	11	10	15	-15	43
16	Zaragoza	36	10	11	15	-10	41
17	Osasuna	36	11	7	18	-7	40
18	Recreativo de Huelva	36	10	10	16	-22	40
19	Real Murcia	36	7	9	20	-26	30
20	Levante U.D	36	7	5	24	-35	26

If Barca are to get rid of Ronaldinho, i think they should make a bid for either Lulinha or Kerlon, the two youthful wonderful Brazilians. Recent history, over the 14 to 15 years, that barca tends to perform better with the inclusion of a skillful Brazilian on the team.

For instance the year after Rivaldo left, barca had Motta, Rochemback (the worst of them all), and Geovanni, on the team. None of these players being skillful enough to help Barca. The year afterward "we" aquired Ronaldo de Assis Moreira Gaucho aka Ronaldinho, who did wonders for bara.

This is why i personlally think barca can get rid of Ronaldinho but they need to bring back a brazilian wonder kid to the team, so as to assist, Bojan and Dos Santos, the future of Barcelona's football.

By Joseph Pierre
(posted by a reader)

Eto’o, Thuram and Belletti have be given the clear from FC Barcelona´s medical staff. and therefore are the two new names on the squad list for the game against Mallorca. All 3 Barca players have recovered from their injuries. Centre Forward Eto’o missed the game against Zaragoza due to tendonitis. Belletti picked up a know in the week before and therefore was rested against Zaragoza. Thuram, who played at La Romareda, has also fully recovered from his minor injuries he picked up at the beginning of the week. thuram will be in the squad for Sunday’s match against Mallorca, after he passed the final checks.

Oleguer and Ezquerro are out due to technical reasons. Ronaldinho and Motta will also miss the Sunday clash. Both were working out individually at La Masia. Ronaldinho following a specific training plan that should bring him back to full fitness after being treated with antibiotics due to a tonsillitis. Motta is working on a recovery programe for his Achilles problem.

Thiago Motta, who missed the Copa del Rey match against Real Zaragoza due to some trouble with his right knee was back in training yesterday. He took full part in the team training and there have been no problems.
Ronaldinho, Saviola, Xavi, Thuram and Marquez all worked out in Nou Camp´s gym.
Puyol, Zambrotta and Oleguer, exercised during some regeneration programe.
Belletti, Motta, Gio, Gudjohnsen, Eto'o, Deco, Ezquerro, Giuly were doing the full programe and the two goalkeepers, Valdes and Joquera, continued doing exercises to improve speed and stamina.

generally, the Barca players felt the same way than the fans: Barca was better than Atletico and a spirited team lost two important points.

Here are the post match comments from Barca captain Puyol, Deco, andres Iniesta and Thiago Motta:

Carles Puyol:

It's a shame to have lost two important points. The team played well and gave everything. It was an isolated attack which resulted in the Athletico goal. We had chances to get another goal but we were unable to convert them. It's been a good year for us, despite the loss in Japan. We have important challenges in 2007, we're alive in all competitions and we have the desire to win.

Deco:

Barça were the better team. Athletico played a counter-attacking game. We played to win, however, we were unable to get the victory we were looking for. We kept looking for the winner until the final whistle. At times during the second half it was clear that we were a little tired from Japan. We're now second in the league with a game in hand. The refs are complicated here. Three minutes of time added on were too few, taking into account the time lost in the game.

Andrés Iniesta:

It's a shame to have lost two points. In the second half, we seemed a little tired. The Christmas break will give us time to recharge the batteries. In the one occasion Athletico had, they scored. We played a good game.

Thiago Motta:

Looking back, we had chances in the first half to score more goals. I think we deserved a little more from the game. We need to rest now in order to come back and achieve what we want to achieve in 2007.