Fifteenth win on the trot (0-3)

Barça beat Hercules 0-3 tonight to record their 15th La Liga win on the trot. Pedro opened the scoring in the first half and two late strikes from Messi sealed the win and the points.

The team continues to power ahead, tonight seeing off the only team to beat them so far this season, Hercules, to equal the record of fifteen straight wins in La Liga. It was a tougher game than the result might suggest though, as Guardiola had warned it would be and although the team were in control and made their chances, only Pedro was able to finish one off until Messi popped up in the final few minutes to put the game to bed.



Barça imposed their control and intensity from the off and dominated the game completely with almost all the early exchanges in the Hercules half. The hosts repeated the conservative tactics that had served them so well at the Nou Camp, ceding possession to Barça, whose attacks came mainly through the centre.

Messi and Pedro had the first clear cut chances, but Hercules also created their own, with Trezeguet on 20 minutes missing a chance he’d not normally fail to put away.

Pedro opens the scoring

Barça worked at wearing their hosts down with long periods of possession and large doses of patience and just before the break they got their reward when after a long series of passes, Xavi opened up the Hercules defence with a pass out right for Pedro, who fired home to score in his sixth game on the run.

The goal hit Hercules just before half time – always a tough break - and forced them to open up in the second half , opening up spaces for Barça and also forcing the visitors to concentrate on defending in the way they do best –keeping possession and attacking, as a goal disallowed for offside against Pedro and a narrow miss from Messi came close to increasing the lead.

Two quick strikes from Messi

Hercules still had hope though, but a red card for Farinos left them with 10 men on 84 minutes and Messi scored a lovely second soon after, cutting across the front of the visitors’ box to fire in a great shot. Two minutes later, he doubled his tally, tapping in an Alves centre to make it three and give Barça revenge for their defeat in September and their 15th win on the trot.

Liverpool FC Agree to €26.5M Fee for Ajax Striker Luis Suarez

  

 

Liverpool FC today confirmed, via their official website, that they have finally reached an agreement with Dutch club Ajax for the transfer of star Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez.
One of the main recurring stories during this transfer window, the on/off transfer of Suarez to the Anfield club seemed to be almost dead and buried after a series of trips to Holland by Damien Comolli, director of football strategy for Liverpool, ended in disappointment as the two clubs failed to negotiate a price that both teams were happy with.
However, just after 5:00pm local time, Liverpool announced that they had reached an agreement to pay up to €26.5 million for the talented attacker.
Suarez has come to the attention of top clubs all over the world for his goalscoring exploits at club and country, as he has scored 107 goals in 153 games for Ajax, including 35 goals in just 34 league games during the 2009-10 season.
For his country Uruguay, he scored three times in the recent 2010 World Cup and has 16 goals in 39 caps overall.
The initial fee has not been released but around £15-18 million is the expected amount, with the rest rising depending on appearances, trophies or other possible achievements.
Suarez has scored seven times in 13 league games this season for Ajax.

Pedro: “my favourite game? The 5- 0 over Madrid” & Pedro celebrates centenary

In his 100 games for the club, Pedro Rodríguez has established himself as a key part of Guardiola’s Barça. Amongst all the success and titles he’s won over the three years, Pedro plumps for the win over Madrid this year as the best moment of all.

He scored the goal that gave Barça the European Super Cup in 2009 and his goals helped the team to conquer the World Club Cup for the first time a few months later, but asked to pick his favourite moment he didn’t hesitate: “for the way we played, it’d have to be this season’s 5-0 win over Real Madrid at the Nou Camp

Good moment of form
Pedro Rodríguez was a guest on Barca TV’s “El Marcador” programme following the win over Almeria on Wednesday night and the Spanish forward, who just seems to get better with each season, agreed that he’s enjoying some great form right now: “it’s all down to the work of the team as a whole. I think we are improving our level and that’s why I feel more comfortable on the pitch. I’ve gained in confidence and I’m adapting well to the team”. Pedro also expressed his hope that his improvement will continue for quite a while just yet.

Cup Caution
Pedro echoed his teammates’ caution as to the chances of another Cup Final, despite the 5-0 win the team take into the second leg in Almeria: “we know we got a good result, but there’s still the return game to play and we can’t be over confident. What happened at Betis is still fresh in our minds and we mustn’t get carried away”.

Final against Madrid?
Inevitably, there is plenty of speculation about the possibility of a final against Real Madrid(who beat Seville 0-1 in their semi final first leg) and although Pedro didn’t want to get too drawn into discussing any possible clash with two games still to be played, he did admit: “it’d be neat to meet in the final and put on a good game”.

Pedro Rodríguez played his 100th match for Barcelona against Almeria and was able to celebrate with a terrific goal. He made his first team début three seasons ago and holds the record for scoring in six different competitions in the same season.

On January 12, 2008, a young product of the youth team called Pedro Rodríguez and known as ‘Pedrito’ made his debut for Barça against Murcia. The win already secure after FCB had gone 4-0 ahead, Frank Rijkaard gave the Canary Islander his chance in the 88th minute. Three years later, he has consolidated his place in the first team and has completed his first century of official appearances.

Revelation of 2009/10
In the 2008/09 season, the player now known as Pedro was handed a more regular place after the arrival of Josep Guardiola, although he alternated first team duties with games for the reserves.

It was in the 2009/10 season that he really made the breakthrough, when he became the first man to score in six official competitions. His goals in the European Super Cup and the World Clubs Cup were essential contributions to the victories in those tournaments, and he also scored 12 times in the league and was rewarded with a place in the World Cup winning Spain squad.

In form player
Pedro Rodríguez has confirmed his potential this season. He has scored 11 goals in the league, 3 in the Champions League and 4 in the Cup. He was involved in 14 consecutive league wins and set a personal record by scoring in five matches in a row.

Tonight against Almeria, he was able to celebrate his personal centenary in style with yet another goal. It came on the half hour from a cheekily converted header from a Xavi free kick. Not only does he score, but he does so in an incredible variety of different ways!

All the matches and goals

COMPETITION	M	G
LEAGUE	62	23
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE	19	7
CUP	13	7
EUROPEAN SUPERCUP	1	1
WORLD CUP CLUB	2	2
SPANISH SUPERCUP	3	1
TOTAL	100	41

Barcelona preparing to hijack Man United move for Dutch ace

Manchester United have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Ajax defender Gregory van der Wiel after reports in the Dutch press claim Barcelona are also keeping tabs on the player.
The Netherlands international has been on Alex Ferguson's radar for some time while also attracting interest from Inter Milan and United's rivals Manchester City.
However, with contract talks over a new deal for current Barca defender Daniel Alves reportedly breaking down, the Catalan giants are looking elsewhere and have set their sights on right-back Van der Wiel.
The 22-year-old is valued at around £13m and has made 26 appearances in all competitions for Ajax this campaign, while he also featured twice for the Dutch national side at the 2010 World Cup

Xavi, a year at the top

The Barça midfielder is 31 today, and has become a living legend at a club where he is currently enjoying some amazing form.

Xavi Hernández represents everything that is good about the Barça philosophy. He is the lynchpin of midfield, like the conductor of an orchestra, and has delighted the world with his exceptional vision and unquestionable dedication to the club he loves. The player with the most appearances ever for the club is 31 today.

Titles galore

Xavi operates with the precision of a GPS machine and plays the game by memory. The Barcelona successes of 2010 cannot be understood without considering his contributions. He played an active role in the way the league was won with 99 points and was simply outstanding with his assists for Messi in the Spanish Super Cup win against Sevilla. The Spanish victory at the World Cup in South Africa was also thanks, to a large extent, to the expert distribution of the ball by one of the finest playmakers the game has ever known.

Individual recognition
Xavi is an exceptional, unique and inimitable footballer, and this has been recognised in all manner of ways in recent months. He won the Premi Catalunya de l’Esport, the Premio Nacional de Deporte awarded by the Consejo Superior de Deportes, the Prince of Asturias Award along with his Spain team mates, he was named Sportsman of the Year at the Mundo Deportivo 2010 Gala and was one of the three finalists for the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich

FC Barcelona: Top 10 Best Matches Under Pep Guardiola (With Video Highlights)

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When we speak of the top 10 best matches of FC Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, it is acceptable to refer to the hottest and most entertaining games in which Barca have played under the leadership of their young coach.

However, this is actually not the main point of this article, as we simply focus on the best games of the Blaugrana which ended profitably from their point of view. In the next slides, through video highlights, we take a look at their most thrilling matches which ended in their favor.

 10)Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid: 13 December 2008

Eto'o might have missed a penalty in this match for Barcelona against Real Madrid, but the Blaugrana were able to finish the game on a wonderful note, with Messi killing off Los Blancos late in the game. If this game is not one of Barcelona's best since Pep Guardiola's taking-over at the club, then which game is?

9)Barcelona 5-2 Lyon: 11 March 2009

What a severe disgrace it was for the French. For Barcelona though, it was a moment to relive over and over again...

8)Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona: 2 May 2009

This match obviously raised Guardiola's standard in the list of this generation's best coaches. Scoring 6 goals against a giant side like Real Madrid is never an easy mission to accomplish; but somehow, his men were able to do the "impossible".

7)Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona: 6 May 2009

The second leg of the Chelsea-Barcelona game in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League semifinals was not a pretty game at all. It was nevertheless the source of the Catalans' total success later that year (2009).

6)Barcelona 4-1 Athletic Bilbao:13 May 2009

This outstanding game in the 2009 Copa del Rey final marked Pep Guardiola's first victory in a contest with FC Barcelona. What a moment to remember...

5)FC Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United: 27 May 2009

Sir Alex Ferguson is one of football's greatest coaches... Pep Guardiola still has a long way to go to equal Fergie in terms of number of trophies won in his career; but at least, the only time both coaches met, it was the Spaniard who emerged victorious

4)Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid: 29 November 2009

Perhaps this game was not as entertaining as many expected it to be. Yet, for Barcelona, a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid was extremely important, as it helped them clinch their only trophy in the 2009/10 season.

3)Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal: 6 April 2010

This night was Lionel Messi's night for sure. Such a scoreline was definitely nothing less than shocking, but in a way, it wasn't too surprising due to Barcelona's capabilities.

2)Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona: 10 April 2010

Even after spending heavily in the 2009 summer transfer window, Real Madrid still bowed down to Barcelona at the Bernabeu Stadium on April 10, 2010. Goals from Messi and Pedro humbled Los Galacticos, who had just involuntary raised Manager Guardiola to new heights

1)Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid: 29 November 2010

Just watch the video highlights nearby and you will understand why this Barcelona-Real Madrid game is probably Guardiola's best game ever in his career.

Chelsea May Purchase David Luiz From Benfica Within 48 Hours

Chelsea is in the process of purchasing center back David Luiz from Benfica. The purpose is to attempt to salvage what remains of the Blues 2010-2011 Premier League Season.

Carlo Ancelotti has just admitted before the upcoming game against the Bolton Wanderers that Chelsea has not met expectations for the supporters and the owner Roman Abramovich.

The deal is supposed to cost Chelsea about 21.5 M Pound Sterlings (approximately $34M USA). The possibility that exists is that Chelsea may exchange Jeffrey Bruma or Patrick Van Aanholt for Luiz.

It remains to be seen whether this can be accomplished after the third attempt by Chelsea to purchase the Benfica center back was rejected by his team on January 19, 2011.
David Luiz was born David Luiz Moreira Marinho on April 22, 1987 in Salvador, Brazil. He began his career with EC Vitoria in 2005 before transferring to SL Benfica in 2007.

He scored five goals within 106 appearances during his professional career with Vitoria and Benfica.

He has also played with the Brazilian National Football Team during the same time frame. Luiz has not scored a goal in his six appearances with the team.

David Luiz is also the recipient of the League Cup in 2009 and 2010 as well as the Liga in 2010. There will be an update as the news continues to evolve.