Barcelona v Villarreal : Party time for Barca

Barcelona  v  Villarreal

Barcelona will begin the new year amid a party atmosphere as they prepare to celebrate their incredible six-trophy haul from 2009 at the Nou Camp prior to their clash at home to Villarreal.
Barca scooped an historic treble of league, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles last season, their first under former captain Pep Guardiola.
And the Catalans subsequently added the Spanish and European Supercups to their list of titles won in 2009, as well as the World Club Cup last month.
That unprecedented haul of six trophies is impossible to better and means Guardiola has won all of the competitions his team have competed in since his arrival as coach.
The new year begins with Barcelona top of the league this time around, with a two-point lead over fierce rivals Real Madrid.
The Catalans host Villarreal in their first match of the year, and will show off their six trophies to the Nou Camp crowd before that clash.
Barca have invited players who left the club in the summer, most notably striker Samuel Eto'o, who left to join Inter Milan, to participate in the celebrations.
Following their World Club Cup win in December, Guardiola said that his team would struggle to maintain their intensity, with a natural period of relaxation likely.
However, full-back Eric Abidal claims Barca are fired up for the game against Villarreal.
"This match is the most important one because it is the first of 2010, it's at home, Villarreal are a good team and I'm sure they will be coming here looking for a good result,'' he said.
Abidal believes that a repeat of last season's treble is unlikely, but hopes Barcelona can win at least one title at the end of the current campaign.
"We still don't know what will happen, but it (winning the treble) is difficult to repeat - we know it is complicated to win titles,'' he said.
And the France full-back says the league is Barca's main priority this season.
"The league is our objective, and then there is the Champions League, which is always a goal as well,'' he said.
Abidal was sent off as Barca failed to beat Villarreal at the Nou Camp last season. Following his dismissal, Barcelona relinquished a 3-1 lead on a night when a win would have seen the Catalans crowned league champions.
The match ended 3-3 and Barca's celebrations were put on hold for another week.
Guardiola's side are virtually full-strength this time around, although Jeffren and Seydou Keita miss out through injury.
Villarreal changed coach in the summer, when Manuel Pellegrini left the club after five years to join Real Madrid. The Chilean was replaced by former Espanyol coach Ernesto Valverde.
Valverde was under pressure as Villarreal failed to win any of the first seven league games of his tenure, but the club has since won six of the last eight matches and they are now in the top half of the table, only six points behind fifth-placed Mallorca.
Valverde, who spent two years at Barcelona as a player, says Villarreal will set out for victory.
"We are up against a euphoric rival, but we are going to try and win the game, despite what it means to come up against Barcelona and play at their ground,'' he said yesterday.
Villarreal drew at the Nou Camp last season and won there the year before that, when they finished second in the league.
And Valverde says those results prove the club can compete with the very best.
"We have got good results there in each of the last two seasons and that shows we are a team who can make things difficult for the big clubs,'' he said.
Gonzalo Rodriguez remains sidelined, but Villarreal should be otherwise full-strength for the trip to Barcelona.

ESPNsoccernet

Video: “Photocopy”

Video: “Photocopy” Vẫn là đôi chân ma thuật ấy, vẫn những tài năng thiên bẩm đến từ xứ sở tango. Không ai bảo ai nhưng Maradona và Messi đã cùng tạo nên hai pha ghi bàn để đời giống nhau đến từng chi tiết.  xin mời các bạn theo dõi một video clip ghi bàn của cầu thủ xuất sắc nhất thế giới L.Messi mang dáng dấp của huyền thoại bóng đá D.Maradona.

Top 10 goal Premier League 2009

John Carew - Aston Villa vs Stoke City FC, 01/3/2009

Macheda - Man Utd vs Aston Villa, 05/4/2009

 Martinez - Aston Villa vs Wigan Athletic, 15-08-09

Gibson - Hull City vs Man Utd, 24/5/2009

Gerrard - Liverpool vs Hull, 26-09-2009

 

Anelka - Sunderland vs Chelsea FC, 24/5/2009

Berbatov - Man Utd vs Sunderland, 03/10/2009

Carlton Cole - Wigan Athletic vs West Ham, 04/3/2009

Torres - Liverpool vs Blackburn, 11/4/2009

Jerome - Liverpool vs Birmingham, 10/11/2009

CAN 2010: Tickets: Only 33% on sale for the opening

Tickets: Only 33% on sale for the opening 

Sinfic informed this Wednesday (30/12) that only 33% of the tickets for the opening ceremony and the opening match of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations – Angola 2010 were put on sale.

According to Luis Nobre, administrator of Sinfic, the company in charge of ticketing, the other 67% were directed to the Organizing Committee of the Cup of Nations (COCAN 2010), the Confederation of African Football (CAF), guests and organized claques.
The administrator informed that the tickets available in the 50 branches of BAI and BCP, a total of 16,010 tickets (30% of the total), are almost exclusive for the superior general seats.
The opening ceremony of the Orange CAN 2010 takes place next January 10th at National Stadium 11 de Novembro in Luanda from 17:30 and counts with a special programme and the presence of important entities of Angolan Government and of international sports.
Angola and Mali will play the opening match of the Cup at 20:00.

Video Manchester United 5 - 0 Wigan Athletic : Rooney shines in United romp

Manchester United 5 - 0 Wigan Athletic

Wayne Rooney delivered another masterclass as Wigan meekly surrendered to Manchester United for the second time this season in a 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson has argued for years that if his side are within touching distance of top spot on New Year's Day they will take some stopping.

And not only are they only two points adrift of Chelsea, they have almost achieved parity in the goal difference column too after another five-goal mauling of the hapless Latics, who seem ill equipped to survive a relegation scrap.
Former Wigan star Antonio Valencia had a productive night, claiming three assists and scoring the final Premier League goal of 2009 against his old club.
But Rooney was the main man, opening United's account with his 15th goal of the season and getting himself right to the heart of a performance Wigan could not have complained about if it had brought the hosts double figures.

Long before they turned trophy collection into an art form, one of the things United liked most was to face lower rated opponents prepared to take them on at football.
They would leave Old Trafford with the plaudits of Sir Alex Ferguson ringing in their ears, as well as the cheers of home supporters ecstatic at witnessing a one-sided goal fest.
Clearly, Roberto Martinez has not been doing his homework.
Hammered by five goals on home soil in August, Martinez made the short journey across Greater Manchester for the return, committed to the same open style, which could quite easily get Wigan relegated.
The wonder was it took United almost half an hour to open their account.
A flurry just beforehand had involved Chris Kirkland turning a Rooney blockbuster wide and Paul Scharner booting a Nemanja Vidic effort of the line.
Following that, Rooney's audacious shot from the most acute angle imaginable bounced back to Kirkland off the far post, the Wigan keeper having been completely bamboozled by the initial effort.
Finally, Dimitar Berbatov, who had started the bombardment by racing onto Rooney's through ball and getting chopped down in the box by Titus Bramble without winning a penalty, fluffed a chip when he was clean through.
At that stage, there must have been a temptation for Wigan to think they would survive. How foolish that would have been.
It will not cross Ferguson's attention that much but an entire nation of football watchers is following his main man at the moment, crossing their fingers he can deliver World Cup glory to England.
Undoubtedly he is having his best season and it was the former Everton striker who stole in at the near post to meet Rafael Da Silva's cross and steer it past Kirkland to break the deadlock.
Three minutes later Michael Carrick swept home the second after Valencia had shown enough vision to cut a pass back into his path rather than drill a cross into crowded penalty area.
On nights like these, the former Wigan man is a powerful force. And with Rafael charging forward on the overlap, the Latics could not resist.
Rafael's only previous goal came in a disappointing defeat at Arsenal last year. This time, after collecting Darren Fletcher's pass and showing nimble feet to create space for himself on the edge of the area before drilling past Kirkland, he had more of a reason to celebrate with twin Fabio, who pumped the air with joy from the bench, although he was ultimately to share a pitch with his brother for the first time in a league game.
A change of keeper at the break as Mike Pollitt replaced the luckless Kirkland, failed to bring a change of fortune for the visitors.
Valencia skipped past Maynor Figueroa as if he was not there, then crossed into the space Hendry Thomas was supposed to be filling before he fell over. Berbatov controlled instantly and stabbed his shot into the far corner.
Memories of that nine-goal humiliation at Tottenham were coming back to haunt Martinez and his men.
If Rooney had managed to find the net when he got on the end of Berbatov's chip instead of thundering a header against the bar, a repeat may have been on the cards.
Instead, United were forced to wait until the 76th minute, after Ferguson had made a triple substitution, for Rooney to drive into the heart of Wigan's defences before sending Valencia through superbly to chip home a fifth.

Rooney wants best-ever goal glutWayne Rooney admits he would be stunned if he failed to eclipse his best seasonal goal tally of 23. "I would hope to beat my best total," he said. "If I don't get another eight goals from now until the end of the season there is something seriously wrong. "I hit the post before I scored and the bar afterwards. I am doing well and I feel fit. Hopefully that will continue." Following on from his superb performance at Hull on Sunday, it was another masterclass from Rooney, which drew warm praise from Ferguson. "Wayne was absolutely fantastic again, just like Sunday," said the United boss. "The energy he showed in his game and his desire is marvellous." Even Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was purring. "Wayne Rooney has been showing great maturity for the whole season," he said. "He is among that elite group of players in the Premier League who are truly world class." "Valencia is doing really well," said Rooney. "He is really quick and is aggressive getting to the ball and his crosses are brilliant. To score seven goals already is a great achievement." Ferguson believes the Ecuador winger will get even more as the season goes on, and they will be needed too as United chase a record fourth consecutive Premier League title. Aston Villa's stumble over the Christmas period seems to have turned the title battle into a three-horse race between United, Chelsea and Arsenal, who have a match in hand. "It is fairly close at the top," Rooney added. "Arsenal are up there as well and the team who is most consistent from now on will win the league." "We made it easy for them," said Roberto Martinez. "We didn't play like a team and showed our weaknesses. You have to work as a group. We were just individuals. "We have to try and get rid of that inconsistency because we are hurting." However, Martinez declined to condemn Hendry Thomas for walking slowly off the pitch when he was substituted and refusing to shake the hand of his replacement Scott Sinclair. "There is no problem," said Martinez. "We are all frustrated and disappointed. If Hendry didn't feel hurt there would be something wrong." 

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