31 responses so far ↓

• Nic // Apr 10, 2008 at 13:44

  I found this which is in Spanish that is a report on Eto’o suffering a similar injury in 2005 and he was out for ten days. http://www.libertaddigital.com/index.php?action=desanoti&cpn=1276248721

• Hilal // Apr 10, 2008 at 13:54

  Well that makes sense, we cannot seem to go two weeks without picking up an injury or two. Marquez is injured as well btw. I think it is the same foot that kept him out for so long. Interesting considering Puyol is going to miss the first leg against man utd, if Marquez is missing as well you can kiss all hope of beating them goodbye, with or without Messi.

• Nic // Apr 10, 2008 at 13:54

  Another report here on Ivan Helguera with the same thing. Here they say a minimum of two weeks out
  http://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-03-09-2003/abc/Deportes/helguera-estara-al-menos-dos-semanas-de-baja-por-un-pinzamiento-en-el-menisco-externo-de-la-rodilla-derecha_205408.html

• e10 // Apr 10, 2008 at 14:27

  DAMN!!
  one of the current best performers in the team and hopefully he isnt out for too long and can play in the next couple og league games and most importantly the Man Utd clash.

• Valo // Apr 10, 2008 at 15:52

  Looks like Marquez, Xavi, Valdez, Abidal, and Henry to name a few are carrying around some knocks and bruises.

  I dont really care about Henry and Abidal - quite frankly I’d rather Barca field 9 players than 11 players that include Henry and Abidal. Barca seem to be better without them.

  Chico and Espansandin were training with the senior squad. (Hope?) That Rijkaard will for goodness sake drop or at least put some pressure on our sucky Left Back defenders? Possible rest given to senior member during the Recre Game ?

  I do hope so. Too many injured players. And no adecuate cover for them

  Hope Iniesta gets back soon.

  Sorry for my rant — had to vent a little.

• Nic // Apr 10, 2008 at 17:44

  The latest news says he will miss Saturday’s game at Recreativo. On the positive side it doesn’t say anything else. So we’ll have to hope he gets fit for Man United.

• Diatus // Apr 10, 2008 at 18:02

  Hey Nic, Two orthoscopic knee surgeries ended my playing career. I had a torn lateral miniscus and had surgery on my right knee. I did physical therapy for an entire semester and missed all the games my junior year. I came back my senior year and tore the same ligament again. That is due to the fact that this ligament never fully heals. In addition, carthilage build around the joint thus creating fluids upon minimum exercise. My surgeons were world renowned (UNC-Chapel Hill Medical Center) but this type of injury is just horrible for a player who cuts and turns on a dime A LOT. His movement will be restricted and my hope is that it is just a pinched nerve. With the nerve you can actually take anti-inflamatories and let time do the healing without surgery.I hope that they opt for that route. If surgery is required then I am sad to announce that we MIGHT not have the same exceptional player we have today.

• Dr.Osmo // Apr 10, 2008 at 18:37

  Damn !

• bobby // Apr 10, 2008 at 19:38

  hey nic do you know if the people from the team like the players and rkjaard really read what we write ??? can u answer me

• Dr.Osmo // Apr 10, 2008 at 19:47

  Iniesta And Márquez Suffer Setbacks

  Andrés Iniesta has been sent for tests after feeling some pain in his knee while Rafa Márquez has also picked up another knock following Barcelona’s win over Schalke on Wednesday.

• BARCA 4 LYF // Apr 10, 2008 at 21:28

  http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada07-08/04/n080410103765.html!!!!!

• Nic // Apr 11, 2008 at 1:17

  Diatus - thanks for sharing your experience. I hope your knee doesn’t give you too many problems still. It seems that Iniesta’s problem is the nerve although they have now started calling it a slipped meniscus. First time I’ve ever heard that term I have to say. Let’s hope a bit of rest before the Man United game will do the trick.

  Bobby - It’s impossible to know if the players read this site though I sometimes suspect that some of the comments might be from them. I think Shahenshah might be Carles Puyol, Hilal could in fact be Leo Messi, while I think Layi or Winterhunt is most probably Jose Mourinho

• Diatus // Apr 11, 2008 at 1:49

  Winterhunt is definitely Jose Mourinho…this is funny!!!

• Jay // Apr 11, 2008 at 5:33

  Iniesta should be back for United.

  The English media have initiated the nonsense you dont want to hear :-
  http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1027012.ece

• Morzzan // Apr 11, 2008 at 6:38

  Yeah if Winterhunt is Jose then I definitely am Arsene wenger, we never get along well!!!

• Barca-Fan // Apr 11, 2008 at 13:01

  http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=655320 :\

• Winterhunt // Apr 12, 2008 at 20:50

  Darn, you got me… I guess you could tell by my postings that I am in fact “Not Of The Bottle” and “A Special One”…. and You’re right Morzzan, I’m not fond of “Voyeurs” who habitually poach young boys…..

  Just kidding……

• Morzzan // Apr 12, 2008 at 22:51

  Hey, Winterhunt, you want to speak about poachers, Just tell me which youth system did Samuel Eto’o come from

• Winterhunt // Apr 13, 2008 at 0:18

  Morzzan, who exactly are you defending???? Samuel wasn’t 16 years old when we signed him from Mallorca via your boys Real…. Real had the first option and passed on him, So I would credit our scouting for being astute, that is a far cry from signing 16 year old boys that another team developed because their is a loophole that allows Wenger to offer them a professional contract be we can… ala Cesc & Fran Merida….. So what exactly is your point????? We develop a good portion of our roster, and like every other team in the world, we are active in the transfer market….. What is your point regarding Sammy, and how in any way does that apply to Wenger poaching teen boys that other teams, and why exactly if you are a Barca fan are you defending Wenger and critisizing Barca for signing Sammy?????? As usual your points are not points at all, just more of a display of your lack of knowledge regarding football….

• Morzzan // Apr 13, 2008 at 0:56

  Is it my fault your team couldnt hold on to Cesc……Or whose is it??? Wenger for having perhaps some really good scouts. And Winterhunt, you my friend need to get your facts right, Eto’o was trained as a Madrid youth player like Fabregas, like Bojan, ……. so……….. Its not Wenger’s fault you could not hold on to your own player. read wiki on Eto’o and you will see that he was a Madrid youth! Also, did not Barcelona agree for Fabregas departing or did Wenger’s scouts come to barcelona one night and just kidnap him. So stop the shit about Wenger poaching young boys. He bought the players from Barcelona fair and square, if your team wanted him that much, then they should have hung onto them!! Stop blaming intelligent coaches for your loss. You in particular, love doing that dont ya? Blame Rijkaard for the incompetence of several players, similarly here, blame Wenger for getting ur player! That shows your caliber my man, that just shows ur caliber!

• Morzzan // Apr 13, 2008 at 0:58

  And for the record, I am a die hard Madridista!!!! Love Madrid, love Arsenal, love this blog, admire Rijkaard, things I dont like, Moroninho!!!!

• Winterhunt // Apr 13, 2008 at 2:10

  You see Nic….. And you gave me a hard time, and said I was being too hard because I said he was a Madrista….

  Morzzan of course you like Frank, he gifted you the league the last two years…. It still doesn’t give your comparison with Your Beloved Real being unable to recognise the brilliance of Sammy, and Your Beloved Arsenal, continually stealing underage boys from foreign countries because they are incapable of developing their own…… And of course you don’t like Mourinho (that is how you spell it by the way..) because he actually wins the EPL & A Champion’s League Title which Arsenal is incapable of doing, and you know that if Jose comes to Barca, then Real won’t even be able to win La Liga because we know they can’t get anywhere in The Champion’s League…. The fact that you don’t like him, and are a fan of Real (who he will destroy if he takes the job….and you can write that down and take it to the bank!), and Arsenal who he completely outshined at Chelsea, that is actually a further endorsement of him from my perspective….

  Well at least you finally came out of the closet, so to speak, about who it is you really love….. Shame about your Gunners, but Congrats on La Liga, it seems as if we gifted it to you yet again…. unless of course you guys hand it over to Villareal…..

• Morzzan // Apr 13, 2008 at 2:25

  For the record, u never called me Madridista, probably you called someone else that. And Nic knows that I am a Madrid fan. So, lets leave that at that.
  You can say what you want my friend, but yes, I wish Mourinho (yes I do know how it is spelt, read the other arguments we had) takes the job at barcelona, then we will see white handkerchiefs waving in less than 20 games. Lets stop the arguing, really isn’t fun anymore.

• Winterhunt // Apr 13, 2008 at 6:08

  I’m not arguing, just answering your posts…… Just curious as to why you think that Mourinho would be a failure within 2o games when he has not failed yet in his career and has taken over teams that were far less talented than this one, and always, always won with them????? My guess is you just don’t like him personally and that winning the EPL, and a Champion’s League Title while Arsenal has done neither must really bother you, especially when he calls out Wenger as the “Voyeur” he really is to the press without remorse….. It really will be so entertaining when he humiliates Madrid just like he did Arsenal, and rips Calderon and Schuster is the process… that my friend is what they call entertainment….. There will be no white hankies for Jose if he comes and you can take that to the bank. You may not like him but there is no debating his quality nor his record nor the fact that he has accomplished this with a fraction of the talent we have at Barca. Look he won The Champion’s League with a team built around Deco, who though he is one of my favorite players is just one of many players of that quality on our squad……

  p.s. it’s never fun to come up short in a debate, but if you make statements then you should at least know enough to support them, and if you can support them then it is just your opinion, and no one can fault you for that, but if you make statements and cannot support them, then….. well then it isn’t fun anymore is it?????? I wasn’t arguing with you and I apologise if you thought I was. I was just defending my position as you were. That’s all. Sorry, if you felt that it was too hard a tone for you that was not my intention, and I do apologise if that was/is the case.

• Winterhunt // Apr 14, 2008 at 0:09

  OK Madrista Morzzan, if you want try and say I don’t know my facts, here they are:

  Just to set the record straight, so you can see that my facts were exactly right….. as I said Sammy Came up with Real, was loaned to Mallorca, then Real pased on their option as they didn’t feel they need him…. We didn’t poach him as a teen as Wenger did with Cesc & Fran Merida….

  This was my exact post that you either distorted or maybe just didn’t comprehend when you said I didn’t know my facts:
  “Samuel wasn’t 16 years old when we signed him from Mallorca via your boys Real…. Real had the first option and passed on him, So I would credit our scouting for being astute, that is a far cry from signing 16 year old boys that another team developed because their is a loophole that allows Wenger to offer them a professional contract be we can… ala Cesc & Fran Merida”

  Here it is directly from Wikipedia, your source:

  Sammy:

  Sammy was born in 1981

  After joining Real Madrid in 1997, Eto’o trained with Real Madrid B because he was still a minor. Because Real Madrid B were relegated to the Segunda División B (where non-EU players aren’t allowed), he was loaned to second division CD Leganés for the 1997-98 season. He was loaned to RCD Mallorca in 1999 *(he was loaned when he was 18, not stolen at 16 like Cesc & Fran)

  Eto’o departed Mallorca as the club’s all-time leading domestic league scorer with 54 goals when he signed for FC Barcelona in the summer of 2004, for a transfer fee of €24 million after lengthy three-way negotiations with Mallorca and Madrid; Madrid president Florentino Pérez said that Eto’o was expendable as they already had Ronaldo and Raúl signed as strikers. *(He was 23 when he was signed by us!!!!!!!! So how is that anything like signing a 16 year old boy???????)

  Cesc:

  Cesc was born in 1987

  Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003. *(simple math… 16 years old)

  Fran Merida:

  Fran was born in 1990

  Mérida joined the youth ranks of FC Barcelona at the age of eight[1] but left the club in September 2005 and was reportedly hidden away by his agent, Joseba Díaz leading to speculation that he would leave for England with no compensation for the Spanish club as was the case when Cesc Fàbregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona.

  Barcelona’s fears were realized when Mérida joined Arsenal without compensation, as he had not signed a contract with Barcelona.

  Contract controvesy
  On October 9, 2007, Merida was ordered by the courts to pay a fee around €3.2million — which is being appealed — to FC Barcelona as compensation for his “failing to meet the terms of a personal pre-contract” with Barcelona.[2] The decision could have serious implications for clubs in England, where players can sign professional contracts at 16, two years earlier than in Spain. In response, a Madrid-based lawyer, Rodrigo Garcia, was quoted as saying, “English teams will now think again before signing a young Spanish player…It’s an important ruling.

  Now this is your posting:
  “Also, did not Barcelona agree for Fabregas departing or did Wenger’s scouts come to barcelona one night and just kidnap him. So stop the shit about Wenger poaching young boys. He bought the players from Barcelona fair and square”

  Fair and Square?????? I used your own source. I could have pulled the same facts from dozens. Any true football fan already knows these facts. Don’t accuse me and distort what I said, and then lie about it, you only reinforce what many Barca fans feel about Madristas which is unfair to the rest of them who unlike you usually at least know their football.

  So Morzzan…. what exactly did I get wrong factually??????

• Morzzan // Apr 14, 2008 at 1:35

  Did Wenger go after these players or did they want to sign for Arsenal???

  allright buddy boy, you won! Now tell me what was the point of all this? Proving that your team isn’t capable of holding on to its own players? Proving that ur team couldnot win two titles that were handed to you for 2 seasons straight? There is one thing losing but losing gracefully is something that you definitely donot understand. Gifted it seems, we won it fair and square. If you were so good, you should have won it.
  Allright Mourinho boy, tell me why was “the special one” fired from his job at Chelsea? I read a lot of newspapers and one of the reasons is his foul mouth, isnt it. Something you call “entertainment.” I can’t wait to see what he will say when he gets his own share of white handkerchiefs. That day, after he delivers his entertainment, you, YOU will deny him. Why did he not win the last season he was at London? Why was it that he didn’t win the Champions League with Chelsea? You keep blabbering about he winning everywhere he goes, why didn’t he win the champions League at Chelsea? Why was he defeated by the same Rijkaard who you probably supported and were chanting “Viva Rijkaard” three years ago? Why is it that Avram Grant is playing better football than Mourinho ever did in his 3 BORING seasons at Chelsea? Why is it that Chelsea is in the fight for the League this season whereas they could not even fight for the title last season? If you can answer all these questions my friend, i will chant your name in every post I will commented on!!!

• Winterhunt // Apr 14, 2008 at 2:37

  Morzzan,

  You are farcical,

  Do I really need to continually educate you in football 101. You cite examples and sources, and your own sources clearly contradict what you said they cited. Why must I keep wasting time illustrating how inane your comments are?????

  I can’t keep wasting time educating you, so , let’s do this if you want to go on record as saying Mouriho is not a great football manager then go to it Lad. I have no need for you to chant my name in hommage nor do I have the time to explain this whole other screed of questions which every football fan knows the answer to already, and just by raising them prove your ignorance yet again. I’ll just say Mourinho’s record speaks for itself, I have no need nor desire to defend it. Anyone who knows football, like him or not do not even begin to debate his quality or his record. You know about Wikipedia, read his Bio if you need a refresher…… Here is the link…..

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Mourinho

  You take Avram Grant or Berndt or “The Voyeur for your team and I’ll take Jose for mine. I’ll be quite happy with my choice.

  Congrats on winning the Liga today……

• Morzzan // Apr 14, 2008 at 2:53

  thank you, its been a pleasure for 2 years now. But Im going to Cibelles for the celebration, so that can wait.
  The fact that you still couldnot answer the questions prove that you are nothing but a big blabber mouth like Mourinho himself (is that really you Jose?), not say stuff like he is a winner, he “entertains”, man then prove it! Stop bullshitting and answer. Dont tell me if I need courses, you keep proving what an arrogant, non respecting fan you are in every post you publish! You are the one who needs to understand to respect others’ opinions not just trash them like the way you let go of Frank Rijkaard. I think I know what you are going through, frustration, for knowing that you wont win anything this season AGAIN!!!! Loyalty to the club ,my friend, yes, I see the Barca fan in you, but ignorance and disloyalty to the members of the club, again I see the Barca fan in you.

  I really wish Rijkaard could be hired by Real and he humiliates your team next season, that will be something. If that happens, I will surely remember you.

• Winterhunt // Apr 14, 2008 at 23:11

  “Why is it that Avram Grant is playing better football than Mourinho ever did in his 3 BORING seasons at Chelsea?”

  Wow, my bad Morzzan, you’re right. I owe you an apology. After Chelsea’s display today of “the beautiful” game against Wigan, you are absolutely correct. Avram Grant is the far bettter coach. I have to have to admit it, and you called it, and I must admit I was blind to this. I think you should try and get him to replace Wenger at Arsenal, seeing how badly Arsenal imploded down the stretch. Avram is your man. Yep, I must admit it when I’m wrong. You are absolutely right, and I apologise, you do know your football, “Avram Grant is playing better football than Mourinho ever did in his 3 BORING seasons at Chelsea” Yeah, you said it exactly right, and in your own words you truly summed up your keen football expertise in that one statement, my man…..

  Oh, in case you missed it here are a few highlights from published reports and a link or two you might enjoy reading….

  “Chelsea were pedestrian in the first half, frustrated by the organisation and structure of their guests as well as their own lack of imagination.”

  “The repercussions for Avram Grant could be fatal as his side failed to close the gap on Manchester United.”

  “For Chelsea, a post-mortem of this fixture is sure to reveal lapsed concentration and a palpable lack of urgency. Simply put, their performance was distinctly un-Chelsea like. For that, they may have paid the ultimate price. Without a number of key players, rested in anticipation of a busy week, Avram Grant struggled again with the conundrum of what to do with a full squad. A manager who seems to deal more adequately when made to make choices out of necessity rather than luxury, Grant may well have shuffled one dud-hand too many.”

  http://www.goal.com/en-US/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=659455

  “Humiliation engulfed Avram Grant, cries of “you don’t know you are doing” reverberating around the Bridge as Chelsea effectively surrendered the Premier League title race. It was Emile Heskey’s injury-time equaliser that cancelled out Michael Essien’s opener, and Grant cut a dejected figure as he sloped down the tunnel.”

  Grant had made the bizarre decision to keep the effervescent Cole in reserve until the break. Stamford Bridge was close to ferment, calling constantly for Cole. When he arrived, he immediately brought skill and invention to Chelsea’s attacks, helping create Essien’s strike, and the Bridge was left wondering why he had not started.”

  “The opening period had hardly lifted the spirits, Grant’s men playing like strangers in the night. The Chelsea employee whose first-half work most impressed was the in-house television man, who somehow found enough highlights for the half-time package.”

  “Having squandered Jose Mourinho’s inheritance, the Carling Cup and FA Cup, Grant now faces mission impossible in the Premier League. Chelsea lie five points behind Manchester United with four games left. The way Chelsea are playing so unconvincingly under Grant, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side could well seal the title here on April 26, the ultimate indignity for Grant.”

  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/04/15/sfgche115.xml

• Morzzan // Apr 15, 2008 at 2:14

  That still doesnt answer many questions. Why was Mourinho fired? This is one game, the english press, hypocrites that they are criticized Mourinho when he was there. So stop citing sources from England. Champions League at Chelsea? EPL last season?

• Winterhunt // Apr 15, 2008 at 4:11

  Are you really needing the answer to these questions????? Why must I take my time to answer every one of your questions and prove point by point that you are consistently off base….. Can you not just admit you when are wrong????? And yet you persist with inane questions that every football fan knows…. was today not humiliating enough for you and your loud mouth that says nothing…. Really, I am not into conflict and tried two days ago to say that we just leave it at my preference is Mourinho and your’s Wenger, and Grant, and Schuster, and Frank (anyone else you want to throw in????)…… Are you testing me or really do not know the answers to these questions???? Either way, I’ll consider this my good dead for the day, educating the uninformed and ungrateful, and then hopefully you will just end your foolishness….. OK then, So one more time Morzzan then I am done with my charity work for the football empared, as I really want to have exchanges with people that already know the basic facts, and can comment meaningfully…..

  Your questions:

  “Why was Mourinho fired?”

  Technically, he wasn’t fired.

  “Jose Mourinho has astonishingly called time on a glittering three-year reign as Chelsea’s manager by severing his ties with the deposed Premier League champions. Long-standing differences with the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, have re-emerged so strongly that they have forced him into the drastic step of leaving the club. The resignation came as a huge disappointment to Chelsea’s players and will shock the club’s supporters. Mourinho’s backroom staff will be leaving with him, including his assistant manager Steve Clarke. Under Mourinho the club ended a 50-year wait for the league championship by claiming the title in 2005, a feat they repeated a year later. Last season may have seen the title surrendered to Manchester United but there was success in the FA Cup and Carling Cup, and a second Champions League semi-final under the Portuguese in three years.

  Although that is the furthest Chelsea have progressed in Europe’s elite competition, the manager’s failure to emulate his staggering achievement in winning the Champions League in 2004 while at his previous club, Porto, has undoubtedly contributed to the breakdown in his relationship with Abramovich.

  In addition Mourinho was further upset by the refusal of the club to sanction the purchase of a centre-half during the January transfer window and by the signing last summer of the £30m Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack against his wishes.”

  We all know this already, right?????? Shevchenko was/is Abramovich’s buddy/favorite player and Jose thought he was not quality enough and refused to play him as much as Abramovich wanted. Abramovich & Mourinho are both complete control freaks but Jose is/was the manager and played who he wanted. Abramovich also wanted more than anything The Champion’s League Trophy, and as we both know Jose got to the semi’s with Chelsea. Now if you think that is failure, then what do you consider, Wenger & Real’s & Frank’s campaigns????

  Here are some comparative statistics for you:

  Wenger at Arsenal since 1996 (12 years) has won the EPL 3 times 98, 2002, 2003, was Champion’s League runner up in 2006 (We both know who The Champions were that year). At Arsenal his record is w 381- L 115 - D 167 winning percentage of 67.85. He also won the FA cup 4 times 98, 99, 02, 04 & Community Shield 4 times 98, 99, 02, 04. HE HAS NEVER WON EITHER THE UEFA CUP NOR THE UEFA CHAMPION’S LEAGUE. Prior to Arsenal he managed Monaco & Nagoya in Japan. He won a couple of French cups, and the Ligue once, but nothing in Europe.

  Mourinho at Chelsea from June 2004- Sept 2007, 3.5 years. Won two EPL titles 04/05 & 05/06, 1 FA Cup 2007, 1 community shield 2005. His Record was
  W 131 L 18 D 36 winning percentage of 70.81. Prior to Chelsea he coached FC Porto from Jan 2002- May 2004 (2.5 years) won Portuguese League 2 times, 02/03 & 03/04 , 1 UEFA CUp 2002/03, 1 UEFA Champions League 2003/04, 1 Cup of Portugal 2002/03.

  Frank Rijkaard FC Barcelona 2003- present (5th year). Won La Liga twice 2004/05, 2005/06 & 1 UEFA Champion’s League 2005/06. His Record W 128 L 38 D 43 Winning percentage of 61.24. Prior to that He coached Sparta Rotterdam 2001/02 and was relegated.

  OK, that’s pretty comprehensive…. All three formidable resumes, but I don’t see how you can possibly rate Mourinho as lesser than the other two, and I imagine that most Football People could easily pick out the most impressive of the three…… I know which one I think is best, you can make up your own mind.

  There it all is unbiased, no more debate please…. Like I said days ago, I’ll take Mourinho, you have your preference. You don’t have to like him but to say Mourinho is not quality is just absolutely burying your head in the sand, and refuting all logic, and really I cannot believe in my heart that you do believe that but just that you are being a contrarian and disagreing with me just for the sake of dissagreeing and not wanting to admit you are not correct. But either way, these are the facts above and they do not lie. Make of them what you will.

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