Join Now  | 
Home About Contact Us Privacy & Security Advertise
Soccer America Daily Special Edition Around The Net Soccer Business Insider College Soccer Reporter Youth Soccer Reporter Soccer on TV Soccer America Classifieds
Paul Gardner: SoccerTalk Soccer America Confidential Youth Soccer Insider World Cup Watch
RSS Feeds Archives Manage Subscriptions Subscribe
Order Current Issue Subscribe Manage My Subscription Renew My Subscription Gift Subscription
My Account Join Now
Tournament Calendar Camps & Academies Soccer Glossary Classifieds
Barca youngster Pedro gets the call
May 21st, 2010 12:21AM
Subscribe to Soccer America Daily


MOST READ
TAGS:  Spain, World Cup


[SPAIN] Pedro unseated Thierry Henry from the starting lineup at Barcelona. Now can he make his way into the starting lineup for World Cup favorite Spain? Pedro, 22, was one of three uncapped Spaniards picked for the trip to South Africa.

Pedro, who scored 22 goals in all competitions for Barcelona this season, will be in familiar company. He was one of nine Barca players picked by Vicente del Bosque. Another player, David Villa, will join Barca from Valencia this summer in a $49 million transfer.

Born on the island of Tenerife, Pedro joined Barcelona's youth system at the age of 17. He split time between Barca and its "B" team the last two seasons but was instrumental in its run to six titles in 2009.

Pedro, the first player to score in six different club competitions during a single season, had perhaps his biggest goal of the year in April when his second goal sealed Barca's 2-0 win at Real Madrid -- which proved to be the difference in the 2010 La Liga race.

Besides Pedro, goalie Victor Valdes, his Barca teammate, and 21-year-old Javi Martinez of Athletic Bilbao were the other uncapped players to be picked.

Spain heads into the final stages of preparations for the World Cup with concerns about the fitness of Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.

"We have a very vigilant recovery program for them," said Del Bosque. "All the information we've received has been positive and they should be 100 percent for the tournament."

Also injured has been Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta.

One player who didn't make the cut was Brazilian-born midfielder Marcos Senna, a stalwart in Spain's Euro 2008 campaign. He, too, struggled because of injuries and saw only limited action at Villarreal.

SPAIN ROSTER:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool), Victor Valdes (Barcelona).
Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona).
Forwards: Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Pedro (Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia).



No comments yet.

Sign in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Join Now


AUTHORS

ARCHIVES
FOLLOW SOCCERAMERICA

Recent Soccer America Daily
What They're Saying    
"You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because they have a different engine. I don't ...
'General Bradley' ready for U.S. duty    
[USA SPOTLIGHT] The U.S. national team starts its run-up to the opening round of Concacaf World ...
The countdown begins in earnest    
[EURO 2012 WARM-UPS] All but three Euro '12 finalists will be in action over the weekend. ...
USL PRO this weekend ...    
[SCOREBOARD] Former Portland Timber forward Bright Dike scored to earn the Los Angeles Blues a 1-1 ...
MLS Scoreboard ...    
[WEEK 12] Week 12 is the last full weekend of MLS for the next three weeks ...
NASL this weekend ...    
[DATEBOOK] The unbeaten Minnesota Stars can take over first place in the NASL from the idle ...
Parkhurst's FC Nordsjaelland wins Danish title    
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Michael Parkhurst's FC Nordsjaelland won its first Danish league title when it clinched the ...
MLS Rewind ...    
[WEEK 12] Alan Gordon struck again, scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time against his ...
What They're Saying    
"Everybody talks about who's better, Clint [Dempsey] or Landon, all this bulls***. And I want Clint ...
Ekra on fire for Harrisburg    
[WEEKLY HONORS] The Harrisburg City Islanders' Yann Ekra, who scored a hat trick in his first ...
>> Soccer America Daily Archives