FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi profusely thanked his teammates and the Barcelona board as he was presented with his second career Golden Shoe—the trophy for Europe’stop scorer—on Monday. Messi scored a record 50 goals in Spain’s La Liga over the course of the 2011-2012 season. “Before anything else I want to thank everyone who is […]
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Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
How Barcelona Keeps Messi Injury-Free
When Pep Guardiola took over as FC Barcelona coach in the summer of 2008, he decided that Lionel Messi would be the leader of his new project. However, the youngArgentine, then just a frail 21-year-old, was already looking injury-prone. So Guardiola decided that Messi needed special attention. For starters, he would have to change his […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Lennon 'Masterpiece' Denied by Stoppage-Time Winner
In Barcelona last night, Neil Lennon’s Celtic was “just a handful of seconds away from claiming a draw against the most talented group of football players ever to kicka ball,” writes The Daily Record. A draw in the Camp Nou “would have been Lennon’s masterpiece,” the paper continued, and he was so close “he could […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
How Barcelona and Celtic Share Similar Histories
FC Barcelona and Celtic, which meet in a UEFA Champions League Group G clash later today, may have little in common on the field, but the storied clubs have quite a bit in common off the field, atleast where their histories are concerned. As Fox Sports’ Leander Schaerlaeckens says, Celtic of Scotland and Barcelona of […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Messi Magic Masks 'Shambolic' Barca Defending
Were it not for the heroics of Lionel Messi, who capped another brilliant performance with a fantastic third goal — the winning goal — against Deportivo in a 5-4 thriller at theRiazor on Saturday, Barcelona would have duly suffered its first loss of the La Liga season. Indeed, as Football Espana’s Frank Tigani says,“Barcelona’s defensive […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Guardiola Interested in Bayern Job
Former Bayern Munich and Italy striker Luca Toni has revealed that Pep Guardiola, who is currently on a sabbatical, might be interested in taking the reigns at theAllianz Arena one day. In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Toni said the former Barcelona coach asked him about the Bavarian giant, and Toni in turn has […]
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Mourinho: 'Messi Cannot Win Four Ballon d'Ors and Cristiano Just One'
In an interview with France Football, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has once again said his star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, should win the covetedFIFA Ballon d’Or, formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year award, for 2012 instead of Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, who has won the trophy for the last three yearsin […]
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Falcao the Favorite for Spain's Pichichi?
It appears as though the race for Spain’s “Pichichi” (top goal scorer) award faces fresh competition this year: Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has joinedusual suspects Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish goal scoring charts, with 8 goals each after seven games.Across Europe, the La […]
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Spanish Official: Camp Nou Protest is Bad for Spain
Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on Monday said that the loud protest for independence from the nearly 100,000 fans, mostly Catalonian, at the Camp Nou for Sunday’sClasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid reflected badly on Spain, which sits at the crux of the economic crisis currently plaguing countries in the European Union. “A […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
The genius of Ronaldo and Messi
[REAL MADRID-BARCELONA] Like many other league vs. cup winner confrontations, Spain’s Supercopa is supposed to be a low-key preseason affair, but it is anythingbut when Real Madrid and Barcelona square off. Last year’s Supercopa was memorable for Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho poking then-Barca assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye. This year’s Supercopa won by […]