Internationals off again

Fourteen first team squad members, plus B team full back Montoya are off on international duty, with just seven players left at the Ciutat Esportiva - and five of those are injured.

When the squad comes in to train on Wednesday there will only be seven players available - Pinto and Fontàs, as well as the injured Puyol, Piqué, Maxwell, Adriano and Afellay, as the international calendar again cuts swathes through Guardiola’s squad.

Friendlies and qualifiers 
Éric Abidal will play two European Championship qualifiers with France – against Albania on September 2nd and Rumania four days later. Valdés, Montoya, Busquets, Cesc, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Villa and Thiago are in the Spanish squad for the friendly against Alexis Sanchez’s Chile in Switzerland and the qualifier against Liechtenstein, in Logroño next Tuesday. Sanchez will be in action for Chile on Sunday in another friendly –against Mexico at Espanyol’s Cornellà-El Prat Stadium.

Keita back with Mali 
After a year’s absence, Seydou Keita will reappear for Mali against Cape Verde in an African Cup of Nations qualifier. Leo Messi and Javier Mascherano both make long journeys for the friendly against Venezuela in Calcutta on Friday and against Nigeria in Dhaka four days later. Finally, Dani Alves’ Brazil face Ghana in London on September 5th.

Guardiola to attend Elite Coaches’ Forum

Pep Guardiola will be attending The 13th UEFA Elite Coaches' Forum in Nyon later this week.

The forum will be held on Wednesday and Thursday and as well as the Barca boss, 
other big names such as Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson, Chelsea’s André Villas-Boas, Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger. Ajax’s Frank de Boer and Valencia’s Unai Emery will also be attending. 

The Forum begins at 17.00 on Wednesday and will close at noon on Thursday, with the managers dealing with a number of issues, including group management, the importance of making substitutions and injury trends, their effects on performances and the factors which lead to them. 

Messi’s 101 goals at the Camp Nou

Messi just doesn’t stop – he seems to score with ease and with the two he bagged against Villarreal he made it 101 goals at the Camp Nou, with 63 in the league, 20 in the Champions League, 11 in the Cup and 7 in the Spanish Super Cup.

Leo Messi has begun the new season just as he finished off last year, with 6 goals in 4 games, with his two against Villarreal taking him past the100 mark at the Stadium. 

Messi’s goals at the Stadium: 
11/12 season; 2 League, 3 Spanish Super Cup and 1 European Super Cup 
10/11; 15 League, 6 Champions League, 6 Spanish Cup and 3 European Super Cup 
09/10; 16 League, 7 Champions League, 1 Spanish Cup and 2 Spanish Super Cup 
08/09; 8 League, 4 Champions League and 1 Spanish Cup 
07/08; 9 League and 2 Champions League 
06/07; 8 League and 2 Spanish Cup 
05/06; 4 League, 1 Champions League and 1 Spanish Cup 
04/05; 1 League 

Debut strike 
Messi’s first goal at the Camp Nou came at the end of the 2004/05 season when at the age of 18 he scored with a brilliant chip against Albacete. 

Wonder goal against Getafe 
There have been many memorable goals from Messi, but perhaps the most famous one was against Getafe in the Spanish Cup semi-final in 2007, when he picked up the ball in midfield and slalomed through almost the whole of the Getafe defence for a goal that drew comparison to Maradona’s famous strike against England in the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

Guardiola: "With different types of defenders we couldn’t have played like that"

Whilst recognising that playing with three defenders against a team as dangerous as Villareal might have been a risk, Guardiola stressed that the quality of his players was the key for having dared to do just that.

At the press conference after the match against Villareal, Josep Guardiola explained his tactical approach to FC Barcelona’s first game in the League. The manager began by analysing the game with regard to the wingers, when playing with three defenders: "When you don’t play with full-backs, the wingers have to be a little more static, and more patient. We had only one natural defender, Abidal, and we decided to play like we did. The idea was to have control of the ball, play the ball out of defence, pack the midfield, and move the ball around a lot".

It was an approach which had a very positive result: "We played an unbelievable game, which in my opinion is the end of the preseason, as I think that the season starts when the players return from the matches with their respective National teams. We played really well against a Villarreal team that has always given us lots of problems. I want to again congratulate each player, because I’m very pleased with the performance of all of them".
When asked if, in the case that he’d had everybody available, he would have opted for a 3 man defence, Guardiola was pretty clear: "It depends a little bit on everything. If I’d had all the players available, I’m not sure what would have happened. In this club I’ve always thought that good football comes from the midfielders, and we are lucky to have quite a few very good ones".

"It was a risk"

Insisting on the 3 man defence, the manager recognised that "it was a risk to play like that, because we hadn’t prepared too much. We explained three or four concepts, and once again they’ve proved to be very good players and really smart, and they did everything very well. They had to be calm at the back, and Mascherano and Sergio Busquets were just that. The job of the manager is to know his players and their qualities. With other types of defenders we couldn’t have played like that".

Guardiola also stressed the high level of possession that Barça maintained throughout the game: "We’ve gone, I don’t know, 180 or 190 games with more possession than our opponents, and that’s a significant figure against a team with the quality of Villareal……..playing with three defenders against Nilmar and Rossi is always dangerous, but it went well" he said.

Cesc’s qualities

One of this season’s new signings, Cesc Fabregas scored again tonight, against Villareal. Guardiola mentioned this, saying: "You always hope that a new signing fits in well. In Cesc’s case, he combines 2 very good things. The first is that he knows the club and some of his teammates very well, and the second is that he was captain of Arsenal at a very young age, and he’s developed a really strong personality. We knew he just had to get used to the rhythm, and bit by bit everything would fall into place”.

About the tandem that Cesc has formed with Lionel Messi, Guardiola said "they look for each other, and find each other", although at the same time he wanted to emphasise the role of players like Thiago, Iniesta, and Keita. "In the end it’s the feeling in the style of play that gives you confidence for the future. They all run, and know how to pass to a teammate, and this is key" he added.
Another player who shone was Alexis, who scored his first goal for Barça on his official debut at the Camp Nou. "It’s never easy to come to this stadium and play like he did. The truth is that we’ve already seen what he’s capable of. As always, we must give him time. He’s a young man who is now the joy of the dressing room, and is beginning to be loved. As always, if anything bothers him, we’re here to help".

A team that always responds

Finally, Guardiola didn’t want to go as far as to assess whether this was the best game Barça have played since he took over the team: "I think we played really well, and we’re very happy. Coming from where we came from, and the efforts of the 2 Super Cups, the team once again responded really well. This gives us that extra confidence, to take the next step forward". Once again he praised his players: "For all that I might tell them, if it doesn’t come from within themselves, then things won’t go well. A lot of them have been here many years and know that minor details can cost them everything. Most times I don’t have to tell them what to do, because they know already. They’re the stars, the ones who make people happy".

Improved version of the Champions (5-0)

Barça crushed Villareal with an exhibition of football, and made it clear that this season they’ve come back even hungrier. Three of the four new players, Thiago, Cesc, and Alexis, scored in the game, and Messi scored twice.
Both teams play neat football, but Barça is at a different level. Pressure, intensity, possession, and instinct make all the difference, and this Monday Barça had it all. The 5-0 win against a team in the Champions League just demonstrated the ambition of these players who never have enough. Sanchez and Cesc scored, Messi scored twice, and a sublime Thiago Alcantara got the other.

Audacity from the start

Starting with a 3 man defence of Sergio, Abidal, and Mascherano, Barça made their intentions clear from the start. They wanted to have the ball from the kick-off and were totally successful in their aim. With a midfield full of ball-players, Thiago, Cesc, and Iniesta, and one defensive pivot, Keita, Guardiola's side went for everything from the first minute. They controlled the game, and created the better chances, although at times the final pass went astray.
Thiago, who helped in defense, covering the right hand side, also got forward a lot. Proof of this was the first goal. A fabulous Thiago run high up the field brought the goal. Thiago went alone and, spurred on by the fans, got to the edge of the area, and with a low cross-shot beat Diego Lopez, to make it 1-0, in the 25th minute.

A lethal Fabregas

In his debut in the League with Barça, and at the Camp Nou, Cesc showed all his qualities, from helping out in defence, to getting into the box, without forgetting the combinations with his teammates. From one of these combinations, in the 44th minute, he made it 2-0. Messi, well inside the Villareal half, spotted Cesc’s run, and hit a superb through ball, that Fabregas took in his stride, rounded Diego Lopez, and slid the ball into the net.

Total domination

In the second half the story was the same. Same script, same actors, but 2 of the forwards hadn’t scored yet .The goal to make it 3-0, right at the start of the second half, fell to the Chilean, Alexis Sanchez, making his debut at the Camp Nou, who hit a low drive into the back of the net after a fantastic pass from Thiago. The striker from Tocopilla now knows what it’s like to score in the Camp Nou.

The fourth goal came from the best player in the world. Iniesta hit a brilliant pass into space, and Messi rounded Diego Lopez, to make it 4-0. The goal was Messi’s 100th in the Camp Nou, a truly amazing statistic.

The icing on the cake

Four goals ahead, Barca took their foot off the gas a bit, but not much. Pep took the opportunity to make three changes, and on came Xavi, Villa, and Dos Santos, but there was time to marvel once again with a fifth goal. Again, a superbly timed pass from Thiago, two assists and a goal in the game, reached Messi in the 6 yard box, who slotted the ball past the keeper to make it 5-0, in the 74th minute.

Then, in the last fifteen minutes, Barça stayed faithful to their style of play. Playing one and two touch football they had Villarreal chasing shadows, just like they had over the 90 minutes. A fabulous start to the season against a rival who are playing in the Champions League.

Barcelona Vs Villarreal 5-0 - All Goals & Highlights

5-0: Barça debuts at beating people dramatically League Villarreal

Better impossible. Barca started the League unbeatable way to a 5-0 thrashing of Villarreal who disputes this Champions League with goals from Thiago, Cesc, Messi (2) and Alexis. In this way, Pep Guardiola has not been intimidated by the left Real Madrid 0-6 Zaragoza and have shown that they go for the fourth consecutive league title.

FC Barcelona started the match with a 3-4-3 alignment with a revolutionary in that Abidal was born the only defense. In the first minutes of possession has been insulting to Barca Villarreal I was not able to connect more than three passes in a row. The first occasion was for Alexis has a shot at the hands of Diego Lopez.

Pep Guardiola's doing a great pressure to attack repeatedly caused the turnover of the rival. In quick time between Peter and Messi, Argentina has forced the Villarreal goal used to fund a corner. Precisely in that corner, Busquets header against the crossbar. Leo has tried again but a providential Gonzalo has avoided the auction of the '10 'squad.

Thiago opened the scoring

But responsible for the deadlock was Thiago that after driving the ball to the edge of the area and see how he tried to stop any rival has low shot with his left and has set the ball to the far post by Diego Lopez (1 -0, min. 25). The replica has become yellow feet Rossi has a potent anti-fired side-netting.

Villarreal have been looking for Rossi with long balls. Thus has worried a little behind a boat with Mascherano booked for a tackle on Nilmar. When it seemed that would lead into the break with a 1-0, Leo Messi has appeared to throw a pass into space for Cesc who, after overcoming the departure of Diego Lopez to score the second pleasure (2-0, min. 45).

Rout after the break

The second half started as the first had ended, with a goal of the club. Excellent space for a pass to Alexis career after stepping in the area has crossed the ball to the back of the net (3-0, min. 47). Only four minutes later came the fourth after a great assist from Messi to Iniesta for Diego Lopez has spared and has a marker into the empty net (4-0, min. 51).

Despite the large scoreboard, the club has not released the throttle. Cesc has had the fifth in his feet but has chosen to attend without success Messi. With the entry of Xavi, Villa and Jonathan Dos Santos Barca the script remained the same. Leo has shot the hands of Diego Lopez in a fast counter-attack while Rossi has finished on the next play off.

Messi close the 'little hand'

Guardiola were stealing balls and one of them has led to a rapid action between Thiago, Messi and Alexis finished with a goal from Leo (5-0, min. 74). Villa had the sixth on his feet but his shot deflected cross is gone.

The last few minutes have become a big round in which the club was handling the ball at will. On a throw-kick quickly, Valdés has avoided the honor Villarreal goal after a shot Camuñas in the last action of the meeting.

In this way, FC Barcelona have started the La Liga 2011-12 with a 'little hand' spectacular and superlative one of the teams named to lead the 'other' League, the one of which is not part Guardiola nor Real Madrid are at a level far.

Barça UEFA record by the flares of the European Super Cup

UEFA records to FC Barcelona for allowing fans access to the stadium radicals Louis II in Monaco, during the celebration of the Super Cup which pitted Barcelona and Porto.

In addition, the penalty would also include the use of flares during the game by the same radicals.

Guardiola has only beaten Villarreal once at the Camp Nou

In the last three Villarreal visits to the Camp Nou, Guardiola’s Barça have drawn twice and won only once, last season.

Villarreal are one of the teams that have made things more difficult for Guardiola. In the 2008/09 season the then Pellegrini’s Villareal forced Barça to postpone their League celebrations, drawing 3-3, with a goal in injury time. The following season, in 2010, the Camp Nou was paying tribute to Barça’s 6 trophy winning side. That day Barça drew 1-1 against the team in yellow. Finally, last season, Guardiola’s team managed to win a hard fought game 3-1.

Celebration of the League title, postponed The first time Barça, coached by Pep Guardiola, and Villarreal met at the Camp Nou was on May 10, 2009. Barça were facing their first “match ball” to proclaim themselves League Champions. Barça went 3-1 up, thanks to goals from Keita, Eto'o, and Alves, but Villarreal came back to draw in the closing stages of the match, postponing the celebrations of the first League Championship under Guardiola. Barça had to wait until the following weekend to be proclaimed Champions.

Second game, 1-1 draw The yellow submarine came back to spoil the Barça party again the following season. The Camp Nou was hoping to start the 2010 season, by paying tribute to Barça’s 6 trophy winning feat, after they won the World Club Championship in December. That night the game ended in a tight 1-1 draw. Villareal pressurised Barça like never before, and Valdes became a key player in the game. Pedro scored the only Barça goal, and Fuster equalised in the 50th minute.

Third time lucky Last year Barça finally beat Villarreal in one of those games that, according to Guardiola, was one of the most difficult of the season. "It was a fabulous match, the team had to play at their very best to win, and that says a lot about the quality of the opposition" Guardiola said at the press conference after the game.

Villa opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Pedro scored a second, but the referee gave a doubtful offside decision, that gave way to Villarreal scoring an equaliser. Lionel Messi scored two goals in the second half that decided the game, and made the final score 3-1. 

Guardiola: "Starting off winning gives you confidence, it’s important"

Guardiola is focusing on the League debut against Villarreal, "a good all round team". The Barça Manager explained that Puyol and Maxwell are about ready to reappear, but he’s not tempted to bring them back too early.

The next objective of the insatiable Pep Guardiola is clear: "Starting off winning gives you confidence, it’s important". Pep, recent Champion of the Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup, is now concentrated on the League debut on Monday against Villarreal: "The first game is always a bit special. Furthermore, we know that Villareal have always caused us problems. They are a Champions League side". Guardiola stressed that, following their efforts in Monaco, the team need the fans to "give them a hand". 

Not at all concerned about the team relaxing  

In the press conference prior to the match, Guardiola said he was worried more about "tiredness than relaxation" of his players. "The players know that they’re up against a team that can give us lots of problems" he added. On top of that Guardiola said "The League forces you to make a real mental effort and lots of work to do it all over again". Once again he predicts that Barcça’s great rival, Real Madrid, "will drop very few points….we know their potential, so it’s important that we win". 

Alternatives to the absentees 

Against Villarreal, Guardiola will be missing up to five defenders. With regard to this, he said: "We have three full-backs missing, but there are alternatives, like changing players positions. I have great faith in the team that will play tomorrow". He also referred to the recovery of Carlos Puyol, who trained the last two sessions with the group. "The sensations are all good. He’s very close, but we can’t rush things after all that he’s gone through". In the same vein he said about Maxwell that: "He’s close to getting the all clear, but we’ll wait until after the international break".

Villarreal, recognisable style 

Focusing on Monday’s opponents, Villarreal, Guardiola believes that "being in the Champions League will give them peace of mind and confidence for the whole season. Since Pellegrini’s days they’ve played with a similar style, they have two great players up front, lots of experience, and a very reliable goalkeeper ... they’re a good all round team". Finally, with regard to Barça’s possible interest in striker Giuseppe Rossi, he admitted that: "Every team in the world would be interested in Rossi, including FC Barcelona. I think he’d fit perfectly into our style of play, because he’s a superlative player, but we needed a wide player more".

A record: 15 European titles

Barça’s win in Monaco on Friday night means that they have taken a record 15 European titles-one more than AC Milan – with 4 Champions League, 3 Fairs Cup, 4 Cup Winners Cup and 4 Super Cup triumphs to their name.

AC Milan are now just behind Barça, with 7 Champions Leagues, 2 Cup Winners Cups and 5 Super Cups, whilst Madrid (12), Liverpool (11) and Ajax(9) trail them. The last 4 seasons have seen the Club charge up the table of continental trophy winners , with Pep Guardiola guiding them to 2 Champions League and 2 Super Cup victories. 

Four years of unparalleled success 
Indeed, with the victory over Porto, Pep Guardiola has overtaken Johan Cruyff as the Club’s most successful manager. The Dutchman won 11 titles in 8 seasons, whilst during the Club’s finest era, Pep has now taken 12 out of the 15 on offer between 2008 and 2011. 

One Super Cup behind Milan 
Guardiola has been involved in all four Super Cup wins –as a player in 1992 and 1997 and as a manager in 2009 and 2011 and this latest win sees his team draw to within one title of AC Milan as the team who have won the competition the most times - five.

72 years without home debut defeat

The players strike which meant that last week’s scheduled opening game at Malaga was cancelled means that Barça open their league campaign at home (on Monday against Villarreal) for only the second time in the last10 years.

The last time the Club lost an opening day fixture at home was way back on December 3rd 1939 against Espanyol at Les Corts, when Mora, Rosalench, Sospedra, Herrerita and Emilín’s Barça went down 0-1. The first time that Barça opened a season at home was 10 years earlier when they beat Real Sociedad 3-0. 

Good scoring record 
The team have great scoring record in the first games of the season, both at Les Corts and at the Camp Nou, with an average of just less than 3 goals a game in the 32 wins, 4 draws and just that one defeat, with less than a goal a game conceded. 

Real Sociedad opened season 8 times 
Real Sociedad were not just the first team Barça beat on an opening day at Les Corts, they are also the club who have featured most times in the fixture, with Barça opening their league campaigns against the Basques on eight occasions. In the 50/51 opener, with Ferdinand Daucik in charge, Barça ran out 8-2 winners, thanks to 4 goals from César, 2 by Basora and one each from Aloy and Szegedi for what remains the highest opening day score. 

Recent games 
The last time the team began the league at home was two seasons ago when goals from Bojan, Keita and Ibrahimovic saw them brush aside Sporting Gijon. Before that, in 2003, Victor Valdes made his league debut in the opener against Atletico Madrid which ended in a draw. 

Puyol starts full training with the rest of the squad

Captain Carles Puyol joined in with the rest of the squad in training on Saturday and maintained the same rhythm as the rest of the players –the first time he’s been able to train properly since his operation in June.

After arriving at the Barcelona airport at noon today, following their European Super Cup victory in Monaco, the squad reported for training this evening to begin preparation for Monday’s game against Villarreal.

The squad were boosted by the presence of Puyol who for the first time since he was operated on for a knee injury in June, took a full part in the session.

The players who featured against Porto did some gentle work to recover from the game and the whole squad will be back for training on Sunday at seven in the evening, after which Pep Guardiola will hold a press conference(live on Barça TV).

Alves suspended Dani Alves will miss Monday’s game after picking up a yellow card in the last game of last season against Malaga to fulfil his quota of bookings and the suspension was passed over to the first game of this season, which after last week’s game was cancelled, will be against Villarreal. 

Adriano out for league opener

Test carried out on Barça’s Brazilian full back Adriano have confirmed the muscle strain he picked up on Friday night in Monaco and Club doctors have ruled him out of Monday’s league opener against Villarreal.

Adriano was taken off as a precaution in the 62nd minute of the win over Porto and the tests carried out this evening confirmed the initial diagnosis.

Guardiola: “this is a unique generation of players”

The boss expressed his pride in the team after their latest European win, claiming: “they are a unique generation of players, with a hunger to win that means they always respond to the difficulties a final presents”.

After seeing his team pick up their 12th trophy since he took over, Guardiola was quick to stress that it was the players who deserved the praise: “they are a unique generation who will go down in the history of our club and of football in general. Their desire and hunger to win means they are always able to respond to the difficulties of a final. I never cease to be surprised by their attitude which always pushes us one step further ahead. Many of them are also good friends and have been for quite a while and that’s not an easy thing to achieve”. 


Guardiola even admitted that he had wondered if his players would be able to maintain their desire to keep winning after the glut of success they have enjoyed, but: “they never let me down. We are very happy with this trophy, because we knew it was going to be difficult. They have a competitive spirit like nobody else. We’ve been through this situation before and we are able to believe we can do it again. It’s another title for the Club –our 12th out of 15 –which is amazing- and I am happy for the institution, we are taking more European titles and the image of the Club is once again excellent. This Club has brought together a generation of players capable of these things and these stats”. 


League the test 


After the fantastic start to the season, with both domestic and European Super Cups taken, Guardiola knows that now it’s time to turn his attention to the league –a competition which he reckons will reveal the true extent of his team’s possibilities: “we’ve won two titles and we are very happy with that, now the league will show us if we continue to be as competitive as we have been in recent years. This team have to show again what we have shown over the last few seasons. We have made a good start and now we have to get down to the day to day work”. 


As well as praising the team’s overall effort, Guardiola had special praise for his two goal scorers, Messi and Cesc: “ Messi is decisive in all senses –his ability to make decisions and resolve situations gives the group greater confidence”, whilst lauding Cesc’s control in the second goal and insisting: “we will be doing what we can to help him put in a good season”. 


Always on the alert 


Finally, Guardiola commented: “there’s always room for improvement”, insisting that he always “has to be on the alert – that’s an obligation of the manager. It takes a long time to build a team and just a moment for it to fall apart”.

Xavi – Record Title Winner

Barça’s playmaker won his 18th title at the Club with the win against Porto on Friday to take him one better than Guillermo Amor, who won 17.

“To go one better than Guillermo Amor, who was a pioneer at La Masia, is a real honour” declared Xavi after the game. The Catalan is also of course the player who has appeared most times for Barça, which with tonight’s win became the club with most European titles -15.

Xavi has won 6 League titles, 5 Spanish Super Cups, 3 Champions Leagues, 2 European Super Cups, 1 Spanish Cup and 1 World Club Cup with the Club, but still wants more: “we never tire of winning –that’s what we want”. The next title up for grabs is the World Club Cup in December, but before that the title collector is looking to ensure a strong start in the Spanish and Champions Leagues.