Three key points for September 24th Assembly

Board spokesperson Toni Freixa announced that the next Assembly of Members Representatives will take place on September 24th , coinciding with the city fiestas and the game against Atletico Madrid.

The Assembly will take place on Saturday September 24th , with a first calling at 15.00 and a second half an hour later. According to Toni Freixas, the Assembly will. “ratify the contract with Qatar Sports Investments, the initiative ‘Camp Nou sense fum’ and approve the project of the ‘grada d’animació’”. The board spokesman insisted: “we understand that the members wish to have their say and we are determined that they should have the final word”. 

Qatar deal 
Referring to the Qatar Foundation contract, Freixa explained: “there was an agreement made at the 2003 Assembly which authorises the inclusion of publicity on the shirts, so this consultation is not actually required by the statutes, but for us it is simply a question of respect and consideration for the members’ wishes”. At the same time, he pointed out that “the board believe this is the best sponsorship deal possible and that the members will agree with us on this”. 

No smoking rules 
The decision to forbid smoking at the Camp Nou will also be discussed and Toni Freixa explained: “the board recommended a ban on smoking and we announced that it would be put to the Assembly to include it in the Club regulations, as has been done in other countries”. 

New “grada d’animació” plans 
A further point for the Assembly is the creation of “grada d’animació” and Freixas pointed out: “we aren’t just bringing this up again- this is a new proposal with strict security measures”. 

Goal scoring debuts

Cesc and Alexis both scored on their league debuts on Monday night repeating the feat of Giuly and Eto’o at the start of the 04/05 season and joining players such Villa and Ibrahimovic, who scored in their first games.

Both of Barça’s summer signings hit the ground running on their league debuts, with Fabregas getting on the scoresheet first and then Alexis getting in on the act. 

Thiago too

Although he’s scored for the first team before, Thiago Alcántara could also celebrate his first league goal as a full first team squad member with his strike against Villarreal – Guardiola’s team’s third summer addition to get a goal in the first game of the season.

Repeat of 2004 success 

In Frank Rijkaard’s second season at the Club, the same thing happened, with both Ludovic Giuly, signed from Monaco and Samuel Eto’o, brought in from Mallorca in the summer, getting the goals in Barça’s 0-2 win in Santander.

Ibrahimovic and Villa 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa also marked their league debuts with goals, with the Swede getting the third in the 3-0 win over Sporting at the Camp Nou in 2009-10 and David Villa was also on the mark, rounding off the win at Racing last season. 

Keita latest international to leave

With Keita the latest player to go off on international duty, Barça were left with just five first team squad members in training at the Ciutat Esportiva today.

The mass exodus of international players continues apace at Can Barça with Seydou Keita off to play with Mali, making it 14 players not training with the remnants of the squad on Thursday. 

Bare bones 
Pitch number 2 saw the bare bones of the squad in training this morning and today they were not joined by the Barça B squad, who were preparing for Sunday’s game against Cartagena – with just Masip, Deulofeu, Femenía and Lobato attending. 

With Pep Guardiola attending the Elite Coaches’ Forum in Nyon, Tito Vilanova took the session and worked with Pinto, Fontàs and the injured Puyol, Maxwell and Afellay. Adriano and Muniesa both continued with their recovery programmes, whilst Piqué worked in the gym. 

Last training of the week on Friday 
The remnants of the squad will be back in training on Friday at 9.30, with the first quarter of an hour open to the public. This will be the final training of the week, as the players have been given a few days off. 

Barça have beaten four Champions League teams in August

The month of August has witnessed some authentic Barcelona victories. The last five games that Barça played have included wins against Real Madrid, Naples, Porto and Villareal, four teams that are playing in the Champions League this season.

Real Madrid in the Final of the Spanish Super Cup, Naples in the Gamper, Porto in the Final of the European Super Cup, and Villareal in the League, are the Champions League rivals that Barça have beaten this month. All four games ended in a Barça victory, and two of them bringing home the first two titles this season: the Spanish Super Cup and European Super Cup. 

First stop, the Spanish Super Cup 
Barça started the 2011-2012 season with a main course, the Spanish Super Cup, and a “Classic” against Real Madrid. 
The first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Guardiola’s men drew 2-2 in a hard fought match, with goals from Villa and Lionel Messi, was used to start to get the legs into shape, and also marked the debut of Barca’s first Chilean player, Alexis Sanchez. 
On 17th of August 2011, the Camp Nou witnessed the winning of the first title of the season. An Iniesta goal opened the scoring, and two goals from Messi were enough to overcome the goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema. Moreover, this game would have special meaning for the new Barça number 4, Cesc Fabregas, who played his first game in a Barça shirt. 

Barça brilliant in the Gamper 
From there, wins have been coming one after the other. Naples were the rivals in the Joan Gamper Trophy, the official presentation of this great Barça team. The players achieved their first big win of the season, 5-0. Cesc Fabregas scored the first goal, and his first for Barça. The other 4 goals were scored by Keita, Pedro, and Leo Messi, with another 2. 
After the Gamper, Barça travelled to one of the more glamorous cities, Monaco, to play for their second title of the season, the European Super Cup, against Porto. A goal from Messi in the 38th minute and another from Cesc in the 87th, were enough to crown Barça, Super Champions of Europe. 

First game in the League with a big win against Villarreal 
The Camp Nou was again witness to another big win against a team that will be playing in the Champions League, Villareal. Gambling on a 3-4-3 formation, the players decided the game with a 5-0 victory, in an exhibition that helped Thiago, Alexis Sanchez, and Fábregas reaffirm why Barcelona signed them. Their 3 goals, along with another 2 from Leo Messi, demonstrated Barça’s most competitive side, which, despite having won everything, remains intact, and the team have the same desire to continue making history.