Barça travel to Seville for tomorrow night’s first leg Copa del Rey match with Sevilla without Ronaldinho and Deco. Ronaldinho is still suffering with tendonitis in his left knee and will not play again until the problem disappears. Meanwhile Deco has a problem with the middle adductor muscle in his left thigh. If I am not mistaken this is the same muscle that Deco injured in October that saw him miss six weeks. There is no mention in any reports I have seen about a recurrence of his old injury, but it is worrying all the same. Keep reading →

Frank Rijkaard has a choice of three possible substitutes for Toure Yaya while the big man is away with the Ivory Coast national team for the African Cup Of Nations. Toure could miss as many as nine games if the Ivory Coast progress to the semi-finals. He will definitely miss both cup games with Sevilla (9th and 16th Jan) and the league games with Murcia (Jan 12th), Racing (Jan 20th) and Athletic Bilbao (Jan 27th). Keep reading →

The first leg of the last 16 cup tie with Sevilla will take place this Wednesday 9th January, kick off at 10pm local time. In Catalunya the game will be shown live on TV3.

As we approach the halfway point in this season’s league programme, the question has been put to me as to whether Barça can turn things around this season. My first reaction to this question is to ask myself: are things really that bad at the moment? Keep reading →

Before tonight’s game there had been an exchange of declarations between Samuel Eto’o and Frank Rijkaard. Eto’o claimed that Barça just had to win, it didn’t matter how; Rijkaard replied, reminding Eto’o of Barça’s style, by saying that you don’t lose when you play well. Barça’s performance tonight gave the impression that the team had been listening to Eto’o more than to Rijkaard. Keep reading →

Frank Rijkaard has surprised everyone by leaving Thierry Heny and Deco on the bench for tonight’s game in Mallorca. The starting XI is as follows: Valdés, Puyol, Marquez, Milito, Abidal; Xavi, Toure, Gudjohnsen; Giovani, Eto’o, Iniesta. Right, I’m off now to get my place in the bar.

Just a quick one to let you know the LFP have announced next weekend’s game with Murcia will take place on Saturday, kick off time 8pm local time. I’m sure some of you have lives to arrange when you’re not watching football. I’ve tried to find confirmation of the times for the cup games with Sevilla but couldn’t find anything yet. Oh well, just have to keep Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday free, just in case.

Frank Rijkaard has named an 18 man squad for tomorrow evening’s match at Mallorca (kick off 8pm local time). For the first time in this season’s league Edmilson and Oier Olazabal are on the list, there is also a place for Thierry Henry and Gianluca Zambrotta who are both fully fit again. Keep reading →

In a press conference this lunchtime, Frank Rijkaard has confirmed that Samuel Eto’o will delay his departure for the African Nations Cup preparations for another week. Eto’o was due to join up with the Cameroon National Team on Monday but Barça have negotiated with Cameroon and he will now be available not only for tomorrow’s match in Mallorca, but also for Wednesday’s cup game at Sevilla and the league game the following weekend at home to Murcia. Keep reading →

In today’s draw for the Copa del Rey Barça have been paired with Sevilla in the last 16, and the winner of the tie will face Villarreal or Recreativo in the quarter-finals. The first leg of the tie with Sevilla will be played in the Sanchez Pizjuan on January 9th with the return game at Camp Nou the following week. If Barça get through to the quarter final they will play the first leg away from home on January 23rd and the second leg at Camp Nou on January 30th. Dates and kick off times will be confirmed when the TV companies decide which games they want to show. The full draw is as follows: Keep reading →