FC Barcelona News

Barça have only won 4 of the last 12 games away to Valencia

The last Liga win was in 2010/11, the only goal scored by Messi (0-1)

Barça are on the road for the second week in a row. On Sunday’ they’re at Mestalla to face Valencia, and it’s not a fixture that has been kind to them in recent seasons. After a comfortable win against Levante on the opening weekend (7-0) and a closer battle for the three points in Malaga (0-1), they now face what has traditionally been one of the hardest away trips of the year.

One win in five years

FC Barcelona last won at Mestalla in the 2010/11 season, with the only goal of the game scored by Leo Messi in the 75th minute, enough to secure three more points on the road to what would be the club’s 21st Liga title.

But that was Barça’s only win at Valencia since 2008/09. Since then, every other league game has ended in a draw. Barça also went to Valencia in the 2011/12 Copa del Rey, and that match also ended level (1-1), Puyol scoring the only goal, with Barça eventually qualifying by virtue of a 2-0 win in the second leg at the Camp Nou.

Last meeting at Mestalla

Last season produced yet another draw (1-1) in which the home side caused all kinds of headaches for the side coached by Tito Vilanova. Banega put Valencia ahead after 33 minutes, but that lead only lasted for six minutes, when Messi equalised from the penalty spot. Valdés proved providential with two top class saves in the final moments of the match.

Dijous vam estar al costat de Leo Messi, que va estar a Mònaco com a nominat a millor jugador de la UEFA a Europa

Leo Messi was one of the stars of the Gala for the Champions League draw held in Monaco, where he also featured as one of the three finalists for the UEFA Best Player in Europe award.  We were with the Argentine for the whole day and recorded the highlights in this video.

The fullback knows all about playing at Mestalla and insists that Valencia “will be going all out for this game, especially after what happened to them last week at Espanyol”

On the Champions League draw, he said that “it’s an advantage to play teams we know so well … But it won’t be an easy group”

Jordi Alba is looking forward to travelling with Barça to Mestalla, where he spent three seasons before moving to Catalonia last summer. So he knows how Valencia always raise their game when they face FC Barcelona, saying that “I’m sure they’ll be well up for the game against us. I was there for three years and Barça’s visits are always a special day for the fans, the players and the coaches – they treat the game like a final”. Djukic’s side have come in for some heavy criticism after a poor display at Cornellà-El Prat last week, but Alba reckons ““the season has only just started, so it’s wrong to criticise a team so early … They will be going all out for this game, especially after what happened to them last week at Espanyol”.

Champions League draw

The player also commented on how FC Barcelona have been grouped with Milan, Ajax and Glasgow Celtic in the Champions League. “We know it’s not an easy group because last season we lost to both Milan and Celtic” he said. “Ajax are a very good team who like play when they have they have the ball and who are aggressive when they don’t … It is advantage that they’re all teams we know in depth. But we’ll stick to playing our game and try not to make the mistakes we made last season. We need to make sure we finish top of the group.”

Alba accepted the old cliché that there are no easy games in Europe, but nevertheless insists that “Barça are expected to qualify. We will try to win every game and make it into the last sixteen … Our objective this season is to win every trophy and it’s been a few years since we won the Champions League so we’re especially hungry for that, but we want to win all the competitions that we’re in.”

Pressure and defence

So far this season, Barça have only conceded one goal in four official matches. Alba explained this good record by saying that “we’re all putting on defensive pressure, even Leo, and that’s why we’re defending better. If we create pressure from the front, the ball is always going to be further away from our goal.”

The player’s contract has been extended until the end of the 2017/18 season

The buyout clause has been set at 25 million euros

Cristian Tello has signed a new contract with Barça which keeps him at the club until the end of the 2017/18 season. His buyout clause will now be 25 million euros. He signed the new document on Friday morning in the club offices where he was joined by president Sandro Rosell, vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, director of football Andoni Zubizarreta and his agent Josep Maria Orobitg.

Hoping for more

After signing, he exchanged some words with Barça TV and fcbarcelona.cat. “I’m very happy to have renewed” he said. “It’s a dream to be able to stay for so many more years at this club. I hope things remain as good as they are and that I can get to play … I’ll be taking all the chances the boss gives me and trying to do my best.”

On the start to the season, Tello commented that “it is always nice to start with a trophy … The team is playing well. We’re strong and know what a tough season we have ahead of us.”

He played in 34 first team games last season, scoring eight goals. This season, he has featured in the 7-0 win over Levante. The striker was officially promoted into the first team last December.

Tello follows on from Sergio Busquets, who also signed a new contract on Tuesday, also until the end of the 2017/18 season, with the option to one season more.

FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax Amsterdam and Glasgow Celtic Glasgow have 16 European Cups between them

Barça played both Celtic and Milan last season, and lost away from home to both

Barça’s opponents in Champions League Group H will be Milan, Ajax and Celtic. It’s an interesting combination for a variety of reasons:

· Between them, the four clubs have 16 titles. Milan have the most, seven, while Barça and Ajax have four each. Celtic won the trophy in 1967.

· Barça and Ajax Amsterdam have never played each other in an official match. But they have frequently met in friendlies, the last time in Elche in 2004, with Barça winning 2-1.

· Despite never playing an official match, there are many historic ties between Barça and Ajax. There have been no fewer than 20 transfers between the clubs, including such major stars as Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, and the De Boer brothers. The most recent case was Bojan Krkic.

· Krkic is officially on loan from Barça to Ajax, and will be meeting his former colleagues for the second season in a row, after playing at the Camp Nou with Milan last term.

· There are two other former FCB players at the Dutch club. Frank De Boer is the current first team manager and Marc Overmars is the director of football.

· Barça will be meeting two teams they already met last season, losing away to both of them. They met Milan in the second round, losing 2-0 at the San Siro before that historic comeback night at the Camp Nou (4-0). Celtic and FCB met in the groups, and the Scots won their home fixture 2-1. The game at the Camp Nou ended with the same score, but in favour of Barcelona.

· In seven of the last two Champions League campaigns, including this year’s edition, Barça have started at home. Tata Martino will be in charge of his first UCL game against Ajax at the Camp Nou.

· Since Barça played in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup, they have played nine Champions Leagues in a row and have never lost the first match. They’ve won seven of them and drawn the other two.

· Barça returned to the Champions League in 2004/05, after one year in the UEFA Cup, and that season they also met Glasgow Celtic in the group stage.