يونيو 2018 ~ Fc BarceLona News

السبت، 30 يونيو 2018

Messi’s hurting the most, says Aguero

The striker says the loss is tough to take

Sergio Aguero says Argentina’s World Cup exit will hurt Lionel Messi the most because of all the pressure on the Barcelona star’s shoulders.

France knocked La Albiceleste out of the tournament on Saturday with a 4-3 win that sends them into the quarter-finals where they will face Uruguay.

Aguero says it’s a tough time for his team and particularly for their captain.

“We are all hurting, especially Leo. He is, for sure, the one who is the most hurt because all the pressure is on him each time the national team plays,” he said.

“When we lose like this, there just isn’t much to say. We simply have to thank the fans who came here for their support.”

Source | ESPN

Messi is yet to offer his view on the World Cup and whether he will continue with the national team, but it’s entirely possible this will be his last World Cup.

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Argentina tried everything to help Messi, says Sampaoli

By Unknown 4:14 م No comments

The coach has given his verdict

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli said his team tried everything they could to help Lionel Messi during their 4-3 defeat to France on Saturday.

La Albiceleste’s World Cup hopes are over after they were beaten in a thrilling game as Les Bleus go into the quarter-finals.

Messi came up with two assists in the game and Sampaoli explained how his team tried to help the Barcelona star.

“We have the best player in the world and we had to try to create collective situations to really use that player who can have many brilliant moments.

”We tried many different tactics, surround him, create space for him, so we tried to use everything we had to allow him to do what he can do. Sometimes we managed it, sometimes we didn’t.

”[The players] fought until the end and they nearly equalised at the end and that’s what I really, really value. They worked very hard and I want to say thank you.”

Source | FIFA

Sampaoli also said he wouldn’t be quitting after the game although Javier Mascherano has announced his international retirement.

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Mascherano offers Messi advice after World Cup exit

By Unknown 2:39 م No comments

Some wise words from the former Barca man

Former Barcelona star Javier Mascherano had some words of advice for Lionel Messi after Argentina were knocked out of the World Cup by France on Saturday.

Jorge Sampaoli’s side went down 4-3 in a thrilling game which could potentially have been Messi’s last World Cup appearance.

It’s not known yet whether Messi will continue with the national team but Mascherano says he hopes he does not retire from the national team just yet.

“I hope that Messi has the desire to remain with the national team and I hope everyone leaves him alone,” he said.

“No one in international football feels the kind of pressure that Argentine players feel and I think we dealt with it pretty well.

“But now, Messi needs to remain calm. He should go on vacation with his family and he should keep playing football because the day that Messi decides not to play, we are all going to find out what a great player he really is.”

Source | ESPN

Mascherano made his 147th apperance for Argentina which makes him the country’s most capped player and he announced his international retirement after the match.

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Uruguay 2-1 Portugal: Defensive Clinic

By Unknown 1:19 م No comments

The Uruguay defense was simply sensational!

After Lionel Messi was knocked out earlier in the day, it was Cristiano Ronaldo’s turn to leave Russia early thanks to a 2-1 loss to Luis Suárez and Uruguay. In what was a thrilling 90 minutes of football, the South Americans put on a defensive clinic and saw their two superstars get the job done up front.

FIRST HALF

Both of these teams are really good defensively but have trouble creating chances, so we expected really good defending and not a lot of chances. And that’s what we got, but with the added bonus of an eary goal for Uruguay thanks to a great combination between Luis Suárez and Cavani, with the Barça man playing a perfect cross to the PSG superstar.

Uruguay sat deep and began defending for their lives as Portugal struggled to find any spaces and create any real opportunities, and what we saw for the entire half was a lot of fouls and stoppages of play. As we reached halftime, Portugal needed more creativity in midfield to get back in the game.

SECOND HALF

The Portuguese improved a lot in the early minutes of the final period by changing their formation to have more numbers in midfield, and they earned an early corner that was played into the box by Raphael Guerreiro and beautifully dispatched by Pepe for the equalizer.

Portugal looked ready to press even more and take the lead, but Cavani again popped up with a moment of brilliance and curled a sensational ball into the top corner to give his team the lead once more. But the game was not done giving us twists and turns, and when Cavani went off injured Uruguay had to play the final minutes without their best player on the night.

Uruguay clearly felt Cavani’s absence as they lost any counter attacking threat with only Luis Suárez trying to play against two central defenders, and they had to defend even harder as Portugal sent almost their entire team forward looking for an equalizer only to be stopped by Atlético Madrid duo José Giménez and Diego Godín, who both had incredible nights and defended for their lives until the end.

The final whistle came after a billion penalty shouts by a desperate Portugal side, and now Luis Suárez and his boys will face the French. That will be a crazy good game, and what could have been a Messi-Ronaldo quarterfinal is now a match between the two teams that actually deserve to be there.

Uruguay: Muslera; Cáceres, Giménez, Godín, Laxalt; Torreira, Vecino; Nández (Sánchez), Bentancur (Rodríguez), Cavani (Stuani); Suárez

Goals: Cavani (7’, 62’)

Portugal: Patrício; Ricardo, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro; William; Bernardo, Adrien (Quaresma), João Mário (Manuel); Guedes (André Silva), Ronaldo

Goal: Pepe (55’)

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Messi should play the next World Cup

By Unknown 10:49 ص No comments

He’s the Sachin Tendulkar of football and his time will come

Lionel Messi and Argentina crashed out of the 2018 World Cup after barely making it to the knockout rounds.

This defeat hurts much less than the loss to Germany four years ago. Back then, Messi was in his prime and Argentina had looked acceptable for most of the tournament. There was a decent probability of the Albiceleste winning and Mario Gotze’s winning goal broke about a million hearts in extra-time.

This time around, Argentina has overachieved despite their elimination in the last 16. They did not deserve to qualify for the World Cup and if it wasn’t for Messi, the Argentina squad would be vacationing right now. They did not deserve to get out of the group stage but by some miracle, they did. After pulling off two absolute miracles, while some might have gotten their hopes up (after all, luck plays a huge part in such competitions), the truth was winning against France would have been asking for one miracle too many.

Messi doesn’t deserve to go out of the competition prematurely and he didn’t. This team pushed itself to the limit and whether we accept the result or not, the truth is that this is as far as Argentina deserved to go in the World Cup.

Messi’s career reminds me of the cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar was arguably the greatest player of his generation and for years, he was denied a World Cup. He kept returning to the team in the hopes of laying his hands on that elusive trophy and when he did lift that trophy, I’m sure all that emotional struggle was worth it.

The parallels are remarkable. Both were young prodigies discovered in their teens before becoming the focal point of their teams. They both wore the number 10 and Sachin was an ambassador for Adidas too. Tendulkar was just as cherished and adored as Messi is. If it helps the comparison, they’re both short too.

Greatness has a price and sometimes, it comes when we are no longer leading the charge.

Messi is still capable of returning for the next World Cup and if his physiology permits it, he should play in 2022.

If there’s anyone in this generation of footballers who deserves the World Cup, it is Leo and he has to keep trying for his own sake if not ours.

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France 4-3 Argentina: Instant Classic

By Unknown 9:09 ص No comments

WHAT. A. MATCH.

Lionel Messi is out of the World Cup and will most likely retire from international football after Argentina lost to France in a 4-3 classic. Messi had two assists, but was never really a factor in the game and the French deservedly won a fantastic 90 minutes of football. Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembélé move on to the quarterfinals, but it’s hard to imagine Barcelona fans being happy right now.

FIRST HALF

Both of these teams have talent but don’t really know how to play together, so it was safe to expect a wild, crazy game. We got it. Argentina had plenty of possession but very few ideas on how to, you know, pass the ball to each other and get close enough to the box that you can maybe fire a shot. Whenever they lost the ball, France activated Kylian Mbappé, who made insane run after insane run and looked unplayable in the first 20 minutes.

Mbappé’s amazing start earned France a penalty that Antoine Griezmann easily scored. It seemed from that point on that the French were going to destroy Argentina, but the Albiceleste dodged a few bullets on defense and were just a little better with the ball, and slowly but surely the French could not be as dangerous. Lionel Messi was very quiet early on and pretty much allowed N’Golo Kanté to get the best of him, but that would change.

Messi became more active and started to move better without the ball, getting away from Kanté’s shadow and influencing attacking plays a lot more. He didn’t create anything special, but Argentina looked better once he started to touch the ball more. After a corner taken by Messi went out for a throw-in, the ball eventually found Ángel Di María, who launched a rocket from distance that went right into the top corner. It was a spectacular equalizer, a deserved result for the Argentine.

At halftime, a very good game of football was wide open, and maybe the last few minutes of the first half were enough to give Messi the blueprint to take over in the second. Or maybe France would be just too good and too much for Argentina.

SECOND HALF

The final period could not have started any better for Argentina: a free-kick from Banega fell to Messi, who took a shot towards goal that was deflected by Gabriel Mercado and went in to give the Albiceleste a 2-1 lead. We still had pretty much 45 minutes to go, so France had more than enough time to take the lead against a poor Argentina defense.

And they did. In a space of ten minutes, Benjamin Pavard (with an insane strike) and Kylian Mbappé (twice) scored three goals for the French and ended the tie quickly. As we reached the final 20 minutes Argentina were already done and the loss could be a historic one if France wanted to. France didn’t want to, and Argentina made it a little less painful when Messi assisted Sergio Agüero’s late goal.

This is one of the best games in World Cup history. Easily. Back and forth madness for 70 minutes, and a 20-minutes stretch in the second half that is probably the single craziest 20-minute stretch of all time. Messi is out of the World Cup, his international career is probably over, and he could never win a trophy with his country. Sometimes football can be that cruel.

France: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernández; Mbappé (Thauvin), Pogba, Kanté, Matuidi (Tolisso); Griezmann (Fekir), Giroud

Goals: Griezmann (13’), Pavard (57’), Mbappé (64’, 68’)

Argentina: Armani; Mercado, Otamendi, Rojo (Fazio), Tagliafico; Pérez (Agüero), Mascherano, Banega; Pavón (Meza), Messi, Di María

Goals: Di María (41’), Mercado (48’), Agüero (90’+3)

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Uruguay vs Portugal: LIVE BLOG!

By Unknown 6:14 ص No comments

It’s Suárez vs Ronaldo! Who will Barça fans support?????????

The World Cup Round of 16 is here! We have eight fantastic matchups with big nations looking for a quarterfinal place, and one of the most anticipated games of this phase is the one we’ll see tonight.

The Fisht Stadium in Sochi will be the home of Uruguay vs Portugal, which should produce fireworks in every sense of the word. These two teams are defensively solid, very physical and with one world-class striker that could win a game at any moment. Uruguay have Luis Suárez (and Edinson Cavani), and Portugal have Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yes, the Barcelona and Real Madrid superstars will dominate the headlines of this one, and deservedly so. But there’s so much more to look forward to. These teams hate possession and love intense, physical play at all times, so we could see quite a few yellow cards and not a lot of goals. Maybe one goal is enough to win this, and both teams have a world-class scorer of goals.

So yeah, this will be fun, and I simply cannot imagine which team Barcelona fans will be supporting here. Just kidding, we all want Portugal to win. RIGHT???????????

Anyway, LET’S LIVE BLOG (when the team news come out)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MATCH INFO

Date/Time: Saturday, June 30, 2018, 8pm CET (Barcelona), 7pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 2pm EST, 11am PST (USA), 11.30pm IST (India)

Venue: Fisht Stadium, Sochi

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM WORLD CUP

How to watch on TV: FOX (USA), ITV 1 (UK), SuperSport 3 (Nigeria), Sony ESPN (India), TSN (Canada), others

How to stream: ITV Hub (UK), TSN GO (Canada), FuboTV (7-day free trial, click here to sign up)

Matchday Thread Rules

We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:

Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do will be warned, and those who post links will be banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another, especially when it’s the World Cup.

Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!

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Oriol Busquets agrees new deal as nine players leave Barcelona B

By Unknown 5:14 ص No comments

It’s been a busy day at the club

It’s been a busy day for Barcelona B as the club have announced a host of players will be leaving as their deals have expired. However, two players who will be staying are Marc Cardona and Oriol Busquets.

Nou jugadors finalitzen avui la seva vinculació contractual amb el Barça B. https://t.co/2rURIEkBEd

Nueve jugadores finalizan hoy su vinculación contractual con el Barça B. https://t.co/Os2OmXqxUA #BarçaB pic.twitter.com/dDgbOqlVgE
— FC Barcelona B (@FCBarcelonaB) June 30, 2018

Cardona has agreed a new deal for the next three season while the club have also reached an agreement with Busquets and just need a signature to make it all official.

The players who are departing are Christian Rivera, Matías Nahuel, Martín Hongla, Vitinho, David Costas, Samuel Araujo, Alberto Varo, Jose Antonio Martínez and Rodrigo Tarín.

There are also a host of players returning to Barcelona B from loan spells and they will meet with the club to be informed if they have any future with Javier García Pimienta’s team.

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Coutinho is Brazil’s best player not Neymar, says Mexico boss

By Unknown 3:14 ص No comments

Brazil take on Mexico in the last 16 of the World Cup and Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio says he’s wary of the threat posed by Philippe Coutinho.

Coutinho has enjoyed a brilliant tournament so far with two goals and an assist in his three games and Osorio says he’s their best player.

“At the draw, speaking with Tite, he asked me who I considered his best player,” he said.

“And I told him Coutinho, ahead of the rest.

“No one doubts the talent that Brazil have in attack, with Willian, Douglas Costa, Neymar... but I think Coutinho makes the difference because he’s a player that can play anywhere in midfield or further forward.

”He is a player we will have to watch out for and he’s really important to Brazil’s game.”

Source | Sport

The two team clash on Monday at the Samara Arena with the winner set to face Belgium or Japan in the quarter-finals.

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FC Barcelona News: 30 June 2018

By Unknown 2:44 ص No comments

A first look at the remodeled first team dressing room | FC Barcelona
From June, FC Barcelona are offering fans the option of visiting the Camp Nou in a unique way. The creation of the ‘Players Experience Tour’ allows visitors to access the same places as their favourite stars, in small groups. Fans can go into the Barça dressing room, step out onto the pitch and sit in the Ricard Maxenchs press room, amongst many other activities. It’s an experience that will make those who visit feel like new signings or first team members.

Battle of the Blaugranes to kick off World Cup Last 16 | FC Barcelona
The 2018 World Cup has reached its first knockout round, and the bracketing has pitted two of the most prestigious teams against one another. France take on Argentina in a tie that has added interest for Barça fans: Leo Messi will be up against club teammates Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembélé in the only clash involving Blaugranes on both sides.

Several ways to limit Messi’s impact, says Deschamps | Goal
Didier Deschamps is hopeful France can “mark and neutralise” Argentina’s Lionel Messi on Saturday, but accepts the superstar can provide a “spark” out of very little. France secured their spot in the knockout phase early on and were able to rest players against Denmark in their final group game, something Argentina were unable to do.

Lionel Messi’s Barcelona retirement: Presidential hopeful Victor Font on a new era | ESPN
It’s a prospect which may face Argentina after this summer’s World Cup but it’s one which Barca fans really don’t want to imagine. For any incoming president, though, you have to be realistic. Messi won’t be around forever and there must be plans for life after his genius.

Luis Suarez says Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry is just in La Liga | Sky Sports
Ronaldo’s Portugal take on Suarez and Uruguay in the World Cup last 16 on Saturday and the Barcelona forward insists it is not a personal battle with the Real Madrid forward. ”When it comes to the rivalry with Ronaldo at club level that’s a different thing altogether,” Suarez said on Friday.

Barcelona reject loan offer from Nantes for Douglas | Sport
Various clubs have shown an interest in signing him but only Nantes have made a formal offer for the player.But Barça have rejected Nante’s offer to take Douglas on loan to Ligue 1. The French side’s offer was to take him for one season and pay 50 percent of his salary.

Barca’s Vidal linked to Italy | Football Espana
Out-of-favour Barcelona defender Aleix Vidal has emerged as a transfer target for Italian giants Inter and Roma, according to reports. The 28-year-old has been linked with a host of clubs this month, including a return to Sevilla and a potential move to Valencia, who will compete in next season’s Champions League.

Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell to stand trial | Sky Sports
A Spanish judge has ruled former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is to stand trial on charges of money laundering involving the sale of television rights for Brazil matches. Investigative judge Carmen Lamela issued a ruling on Friday that Rosell, his wife, and four more individuals will stand trial at a date yet to be set on charges of money laundering and forming part of a criminal organisation.

La Masia’s best goals of 2017/18 | FC Barcelona
The FC Barcelona youth teams were as free-scoring as ever in the 2017/18 season. Some of the standout strikes included Àlex Collado’s great goal from outside the box against Olympiakos in the UEFA Youth League, Cristóbal Muñoz’s precision hit in the La Liga Promises tournament against Roma, and a stunning goal from Guillem Jaime against Betis.

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Zabaleta explains which team Messi plays with on FIFA

By Unknown 2:24 ص No comments

It’s a surprise choice from the Argentine

Pablo Zabaleta revealed that while he and Lionel Messi were team-mates they used to dabble in a bit of FIFA. Turns out, while they were playing FIFA they each used to have favorite teams.

You might think Lionel Messi either preferred to play as Barcelona or as a club from Argentina, perhaps even the Argentinian national team. No, Messi’s favorite team to play on FIFA with was none other than Chelsea FC.

Check out the video below where Zabaleta talks all about Messi.

Now, some blogs might perhaps twist this and say that Messi really loves Chelsea. Perhaps so much that he would even consider playing for them in more than FIFA. Like I’m not trying to say that Messi is going to go to Chelsea, because that would be irresponsible.

What I’m trying to say is that Messi is already signed for Chelsea, they’re just waiting for FIFA 19 to come out to announce it.

Peace.

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France vs Argentina; LIVE BLOG!

By Unknown 2:14 ص No comments

It’s Messi vs Umtiti and Dembélé!

The World Cup is now officially LIT as we reach the knockout rounds. The group stage was a lot of fun with plenty of great goals, great performances and shocking results, but now it’s time for the real big nations to clash for a place in the quarterfinals.

And the Round of 16 begins with perhaps the biggest matchup of this phase: France and Argentina will clash in Kazan today, and good lord this should be fun. The French are one of the favorites and have a crazy amount of talent all over the squad, but they just haven’t managed to put together a top class collective performance yet.

They’ll have to do that in this one, because they’re about to face Lionel Messi. Yes, Argentina are not even close to favorites and they are simply a mess. So what do you do to take care of the mess? Turn to Messi. (I am proud of this joke and I don’t care what you think).

And it should be a treat for Barça fans, too, because it’s Messi against Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembélé. They are all expected to start this one, and it should be really fun to watch. Can Messi shock the world by beating the mighty French? Will France’s play finally match their talent? We’ll find out.

So join us after the team news are announced for a LIVE BLOG! It’ll be fun!