Touré ruled out   



Touré Yaya has had his name added to Barcelona's injury list for the game at Almería on Sunday, despite seeing his physical state improve on a daily basis with hard work paying off in the gymnasium.
The Ivory Coast midfielder joins Lionel Messi, Deco, Albert Jorquera and Santi Ezquerro, who have all been ruled out of the encounter already.

Young ones

Six Barça B players were called up to participate in training on Friday as Pedrito, Marc Valiente, Eneko, Toribio, Dimas and Guerra joined the first team squad. Ronaldinho was also present as he made his comeback after feeling some pain in his right leg the previous day. The Brazilian did return to the dressing room before the rest of his teammates, however.

Out of action

Ezquerro, Giovani Dos Santos, Deco and Rafa Márquez were missing. Deco was told yesterday that he would not be able to play at the weekend in case he aggravated his calf injury further. Márquez was in the stadium gym.

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Eusebio calls for focus     



Eusebio Sacristán believes that if FC Barcelona are to beat Schalke 04 and progress to the semi finals of the Champions League then they will have to be full focussed and show their opponents respect.
The Blaugrana coach appeared in front of the media on Friday after the Champions League draw had been made to voice his thoughts on Barça's next two games in the competition. Eusebio has a clear idea of what will be needed if the Catalan side are to make it through to the last four as he explained: "The squad should be able to cut themselves off from what is being said outside the club. We will have to ignore the happiness and confidence from people that are not part of it all."

Complete respect

Calling for respect to be shown towards Schalke, Eusebio stated that he is sure that the Bundesliga outfit will make the tie very difficult: "We always show respect to our opponents," he explained. "We will have to be completely focussed and give our best while remaining conscious of just how important this tie is. We are drawing closer to our objective, which is to reach the final and win the trophy, all the time."

Key points

Three major points stand out for Eusebio about Schalke: "Their strength, their consistency and their mindset which is laid down by the incredible support of their fans and by the fact that they have reached this stage of the competition."

Playing at home

Barça have been drawn to play the second leg at home, but that would mean that should they reach the semi finals and play either Roma or Manchester United, then the second leg would be away then. "It is certain that playing at home in the return leg is better as it allows you to remain slightly calmer," Eusebio continued. "But for the moment we should only think about the next round and not beyond that."

Messi’s absence

One player that is unlikely to appear in either leg against Schalke is Lionel Messi but Eusebio thinks that there is enough talent in the squad to cover for the skilful Argentinian forward: "It is a shame that he cannot play, but there are quite a few games between now and then and we should be accustomed to not playing with him in the team. We have enough strength in the squad to beat Schalke."


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ladovina

Kakav zreb... Da su birali protivnika u 1/8 i 1/4 ovo bi izabrali.

Hoće li biti aprililili?

Three young talents



Pedrito, Víctor Vázquez and Víctor Sánchez have been called up for the first team’s game this Sunday at Almería. Out of the three young talents only Víctor Vázquez has yet to play for Barça in an official match.
Pedrito made his debut against Murcia in the League on matchday 19 when he came on for Eto'o in the 88th minute. Víctor Sánchez was in the starting XI for the return leg against Alcoyano in the last 32 of the Spanish Cup.

Pedrito

Aged 20. 26 games for Barça B. 1945 minutes played. 5 goals. One of the most consistent players in the club’s reserve team, Pedrito is a real battler throughout the entire 90 minutes of a game in attack. He usually plays wide on the right, though he’s also played on the left and in the centre, and has an excellent touch with both feet. This is the second time he’s been called up for the first team after his debut against Murcia.

Víctor Sánchez

Aged 20. 25 games for Barça B. 2002 minutes played. 1 goal. Víctor Sánchez is a genuine all-rounder as he’s played in all positions this season except for goalkeeper. Even though his normal position is in midfield, recently he’s been covering the centre of the Barça B defence and can also play at full-back – against Alcoyano he played at right back — and up front. It’s the fourth time he’s been called up for the first team this season after the games against Espanyol, Alcoyano (return leg) and Seville (League).

Víctor Vázquez

Aged 21. 17 games for Barça B. 1213 minutes played. 6 goals. Víctor Vázquez is the only one of the three who has yet to play in an official competition for Barça. He is an attacking midfielder who can also play centre forward and has great vision. Excellent in one-on-ones, Vázquez is the third highest goalscorer for Barça B. This is the second time he’s been called up for the first team after travelling to Seville (League).

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hehe igraju na moj rodjus,...

Ronaldinho and Giovani out 



The Brazilian and the Mexican have joined the list of injured first team players and won’t be playing in Almería. Ronaldinho has a groin strain while Giovani’s left ankle is sore.
The unavailability of these two players combined with the continued absence of Deco, Messi, Jorquera, Touré Yaya, Márquez, Ezquerro and Zambrotta has forced Rijkaard to call up Pedrito, Víctor Vázquez and Víctor Sánchez from Barça B. All three of them trained with the first team this Saturday at the Camp Nou and are now members of an eighteen strong squad.

Oleguer is back

Oleguer Presas returns to the first team after missing seven games (four in the League, two in the Champions League and one in the Spanish Cup) as a result of breaking a bone in his left hand in the away fixture at Seville.

And so is Puyol

Oleguer is not the only new face in the defence as Carles Puyol also returns after missing the Villarreal match due to suspension. Gianluca Zambrotta will miss this Sunday’s game for the same reason.


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