Roura: “This Saturday was a special day”

Jordi Roura / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
Beyond the fact that Barça won the three points, Roura highlighted Abidal and Vilanova’s return to the team: “It was a special moment for all of us”

On the match against Mallorca, the assistant manger praised the performances put in by Cesc, Song and Alexis

Jordi Roura sat in the press room after the match against Mallorca in front of the assembled journalists, and before he took any questions he said, “ I would like to highlight the importance of the match this Saturday. It was a special day. We were able to witness Éric Abidal’s return and, after many days, Tito Vilanova once again sat on the bench at the Camp Nou.” He added: “it was a special moment for the whole team. We know that Éric is very loved person by everyone. Personally, I’m very happy and pleased.”

Abidal was without a doubt the biggest news from tonight’s match, but there were certainly others. Cesc, for example, scored a hat-trick. “Cesc adapted his play perfectly to the position of a false 9. He played an extraordinary game. He’s an additional option that we have. But I’d also like to highlight Song’s game. In fact, everyone played well,” said the assistant manager.

Pleased with the team’s performance

Roura went on to say that Song is a very tactically gifted player and that he’s been putting in excellent performances this season. On Alexis, he said, “forwards live off scoring goals. The fact that he was able to score two and give two assists is important for him and for us.”

The assistant manager didn’t stop with Cesc, Song and Alexis as he noted that “when you have players like Messi, it’s unquestionable that you have a problem. The players have shown their enormous talent. All of them played well.”

Time to prepare for the match against PSG

“This Saturday we opted for this pair of centre backs (Piqué and Bartra). We’ll see which players we use in those positions on Wednesday against PSG. We have to talk it over with Tito. We won’t obsess about what their [PSG] characteristics are,” said Roura. “A three-man defence and a ‘robo’ (diamond) in the middle of the pitch is also an option. We have a lot of options,” he concluded.

FCB-Mallorca (report): Five goal win as Abidal makes return (5-0)

La reaparició d'Abidal, en el lloc de Piqué. FOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB.
Three goals from Cesc and a brace from Alexis gave Barça a 5-0 win over Mallorca in a game that marked the re-appearance of Eric Abidal

The Camp Nou enjoyed what will go down as a night to remember as a powerful Barça brushed aside Mallorca with a hat trick for Cesc , two for Alexis and just as memorably, the return of Tito Vilanova and the reappearance of Eric Abidal. The French defender came on on 69 minutes to a tremendous reception, as the Camp Nou fans  revelled in the perfect taster ahead of Wednesday’s visit of PSG.

Two quick goals each for Cesc and Alexis

Barça’s only change from the game against Vigo last week was Iniesta in for the injured Messi and with a number of big names missing it fell to the Spanish World Cup winner to take on the captain’s role and also run the midfield.  Bartra and Piqué played at the heart of the defence – perhaps a hint of what to expect on Wednesday – and Cesc took on the false number 9 role.

The ex-Arsenal man looked comfortable and hungry playing in Messi’s usual position and opened the scoring after a lovely one-two with Alexis.  Almost immediately afterwards, it was the Chilean who scored after the keeper had pushed aside another Cesc effort.

Game won by half time

At two up, the game took on a familiar pattern, with Barça attacking and Mallorca defending, with the very occasional chance – Helder shot into the side netting and Alfaro saw a header pushed wide. However, any hope that the visitors had of getting back into the game were snuffed out with two more goals in two minutes as Cesc and Alexis again combined and doubled their personal tallies.

Fàbregas Hat-trick

Mallorca had tried to take risks up front, but they’d paid a high price for their fragility at the back and Gregorio Manzano stiffened them after the break by bringing on another midfield holding player. Cesc wasn’t to be stopped from getting his hat trick though, and in the first minute of the half he scored an excellent third after receiving a pin point pass from Iniesta, controlling the ball and switching his feet to fire past the keeper, Soon after, Iniesta was replaced by   Jonathan dos Santos, who joined his brother Giovani on the pitch. Far from petering out, the game continued to excite the crowd, with Alfaro unlucky to see his goal ruled out for a very close off side decision.

“Abidal! Abidal! Abidal!”

With the three points secure, Barça looked to ring the changes and the Camp Nou fans roared their approval when Abidal began to warm up on 55 minutes. Cesc got a standing ovation when he was replaced by Deulofeu and then on 69 minutes the moment the fans had been waiting for finally arrived as Abidal gave a final handshake to Tito and came on to replace Piqué alongside Bartra and from then on, every tackle, pass and header he made was greeted with cheers from the Barça fans.

So, with Tito back on the bench and Abidal on the pitch, Barça rounded off the perfect preparation for Wednesday night’s big game against PSG.

.@EAbidalOfficial makes his return to competitive play for FC Barcelona after recovering from liver transplant surgery

Alexis dedicates his second goal against Mallorca to Éric Abidal / PHOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB
The French defender made his return to competitive play this Saturday after making a full recovery from liver transplant surgery

Éric Abidal has the heart of a warrior. This Saturday, April 6 of 2013, the French international made his return to competitive play after lengthy recovery from liver transplant surgery.

The light at the end of the tunnel

Abidal realized his dream of returning to the football pitch on the 86th minute of the FC Barcelona-RCD Mallorca match. The Frenchman came on for Gerard Piqué and he played the last 20 minutes of the game. It’s been 406 days since the player had featured in a competitive match. His last match with the team was on February 26 of 2012 against Atlético Madrid, a few days later, on the 29th of the same month, the defender featured for his country against Germany in an international friendly.

On Match 15 of 2011 a tumour was detected on the player’s liver and two days later he was accepted to hospital. On the 3rd of May he made his return to competitive play in the semi-finals of the Champions League against Real Madrid. That season, Abidal lifted the European crown at Wembley after FC Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the final (3-1).

The Frenchman then suffered the terrible news that his liver needed to be replaced. He underwent liver transplant surgery on the 10th of April of 2012. That summer, he started his recovery process, and in October he participated in training regiment in the Val d’Arán. At the end of last year he started to train with the team, and in February he was given the medical all-clear to return to competitive play. In addition to his game this evening, Abidal featured in a friendly last week with Barça B against Istres.

Bittersweet draw (1-1)

Luis Albert / PHOTO: ÀLEX CAPARRÓS - FCB
A fantastic goal from Luis Alberto gave the Blaugrana the lead, but Mujika equalised to earn a point for the visiting side

MATCH FACTS

FC Barcelona B, 1
CD Mirandés, 1

FC Barcelona B: Masip, Balliu, Gómez, Ilie (Gus Ledes, min 67), Planas, Luis Alberto, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, Kiko (Roman, min 39), Muniesa i Dongou (Araujo, min 78).

CD Mirandés: Goitia, Garmendia, Koikili, Caneda, Martínez, Muneta (Infante, min 67), Alain (Agustín, min 78), Mujika (Iribas, min 85), Corral, De Cerio i Ruper.

Goals: 1-0, Luis Alberto, min 49; 1-1, Mujika, min 61.

Referee: Ocón Arraiz.

This Saturday’s match at the Miniestadi between Barça B and Mirandés ended in a draw. Eusebio Sacristán’s men came close to scoring the opener when Ilie’s free kick narrowly missed its mark. Later on in the first half, Dongou chipped the keeper but the ball crashed against the crossbar. Mirandés’ best chance of the first half was saved by Sergi Gómez, who cleared the ball off the line. The teams went to the break with the initial 0-0 on the scoreboard.

The second half, Luis Alberto fired Barça B ahead with an excellent free kick. The Blaugrana started to dominate the match and create goalscoring chances, but Mirandés, who were struggling to contain the home team, scored the equaliser against the flow of play. Both teams had their chances to break the deadlock, but neither managed to find the back of the net before the 90 minutes were up.