Barcelona Punishes Zaragoza

It was a comfortable win for Barcelona as Zaragoza didn’t offer too much resistance and it showed when piqué was allowed a free header on 18 minutes into the game. Just before half time Messi squeezed one in and made it 2-0.

After the break, it was pretty much the same although to be fait to the visitors, Zaragoza did muster up a brief spell of pressure early on but any hopes of a comeback were quickly laid to rest after a scrappy goal by Carles Puyol put the home side 3-0 up with 54 minutes on the clock.

David Villa came on to add a fourth goal and was promptly mobbed by his team-mates as it looked liked he had found his scoring touch again.

Barcelona exercised total control throughout the game, dominating possession and restricting Real Zaragoza to the occasional fruitless counter-attack. Barca goalie Victor Valdes had a boring evening and all he had to do was pull out the odd cross which happened to appear in his skyline.

As far as goals were concerned, that was just about it and the win put Barcelona on top spot briefly on goal difference. Later on at 22:00, Mestalla saw visitors Real Madrid steal 3 points from a gritty Valencia who were not in the mood for losing. Goals came from Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Valencia lost 2-3 but put on a brave display of football with 11 yellow cards being shown, 7 of which went to Real Madrid. There was also the disputed handball in the box by Higuain but watching it from every angle, the ball thudded against the Real Madrid striker who was on the floor at the time and the referee promptly said “no”.
So that was it, everything remains the same as the two topa teams earned another well deserved 3 points apiece.

Josep Guardiola the Youngest Sextuple Protagonist

Some might remember Josep guardiola as one of the best defensive midfielders that FC barca had during the Johan Cruyff dream team age in which the team won the first European Cup in the history of the club, but who knew that Guardiola had the attributes to become the best manager that Barcelona has seen. In 2008 during Josep first term as manager, he did what seem to be impossible for a young manager. That year Barcelona won Copa del Rey, and The Champions League. The next season Guardiola and Barcelona won the Super Copa de Espana, against Athletic Club Bilbao, the UEFA Super CUp against Shakhtar Donestk, and the FIFA World Club Cup against Estudiantes de la Plata, bringing the manager's tally to the maximum of six trophies in six competitions in one year, thus completing the first ever sextuple.On 8 September 2011, Guardiola was awarded the Catalan Parliament parliament's Gold Medal, its highest honor. Not bad at all

Iniesta a True Crack of Soccer

Today i wanted to dedicate my post to who i consider to be one of the best player in Barcelona. that not only makes the majority of the passes to score but also gives the team security in the midfield.\
Like fellow La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas, Iniesta originally started as a defensive midfielder but his balance, ball control and agility allied with his skill on the ball saw him make progress as an attacking midfielder. Beyond his raw talent that was spotted at a young age by FC Barcelona's scouts, it was his great versatility, work ethic and inventiveness that allowed him to stake a claim on a first-team place at the age of 18.Vicente del Bosque described him as "the complete footballer. He can attack and defend, he creates and scores," and Frank Rijkaard said "I played him as a false winger, central midfielder, deep midfielder and just behind the striker and he was always excellent." He was used initially as a wide-forward in the absence of Juan Roman Riquelme and Ronaldinho by Louis van Gaal and Rijkaard respectively, but made his name as a world-class player in central midfield alongside or in lieu of Xavi, at both club and international level. As FIFA.com says, "It is in this position that his direct style and quick feet can be used to full effect, with the ball seeming glued to his toes as he races into threatening positions. Iniesta is a player known for his passing, dribbling, vision and movement." Much like other Barcelona youth products such as Guardiola, Xavi and Iván de la Peña, Iniesta relies on exceptional creative passing, intuition and inventiveness to control the midfield and dictate the ebb and flow of play. Iniesta has been praised for his understanding and interplay with Xavi; former Barcelona teammate Giovanni van Bronckhorst saying "They have a special relationship, they always have, they just seem to know where the other one is".During his maturation as a player, he has gained a reputation for playing a part in important goals for club and country, specifically playing a leading role in the 2006, 2009 and 2011 UEFA Champions League finals, as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final and 2008–09 UEFA Champions League and Euro 2008 semi-finals.
His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista (The Illusionist), El Cerebro (The Brain), El Anti-Galáctico (a pun on Real Madrid players' nickname Los Galácticos), El Caballero Pálido (The Pale Knight) and most recently Don Andrés from the Spanish press.
Andres Iniesta has demostrated that he is a top notch player for the Barcelona ranks and will keep succeeding in the team until his feet allowds him, as he said in an interview  

A Little History

I thought it would be only fair to add some history of the club to start this blog for those who haven't followed Barcelona since the beginning.
Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (English: More than a club). The official Barça anthem is the "Cant del Barça" written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €398 million. The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as "El Clásico".They are the current Spanish and European football champions, and have won the most domestic trophies in Spanish football, having won 21 La Liga, 25 Copa del Rey, 10 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football Barcelona have won four UEFA Champions League, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, four UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup trophies.They also won a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup trophies, considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup.
It is the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1955, and one of the only three clubs to have never been relegated from La Liga, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first club in Spain to win the treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. That same year, it also became the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year, thus completing the sextuple, comprising the aforementioned treble and the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Barcelona undoubtedly is and has been one the best since its roots in 1899, and no-one can deny that they will keep making history as long as the club is still runnin.
Since this is my first post i would really appreciate for anyone to leave some feed back or a comment below.