Barcelona defender Carles Puyol (can you spot the real one?) put up a picture of himself with Jordi Rios (who plays Puyol, Cruyff and Sergio Ramos, amongst others) and Oscar Garcia (who portrays Gerard Pique and Xavi), 2 of the chief actors of the popular show Crackovia on his official twitter.

His tweet reads: “Con Geri y Jordi Rios (me hermano) moc moc” which translates to: “With Geri and Jordi Rios (my brother) moc moc”

Speaking at a press conference in Dallas, FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola explained that he will cover the loss of Milito in his squad with players from the youth system. The coach also had complimentary words for the departing Argentine defender and his competitiveness.

“With the reserves we have more than enough.” With this phrase, the coach of FC Barcelona has expressed his confidence in the youth players to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Milito, although specific names were not mentioned. In any case, players like Marc Bartra, Marc Muniesa or Sergi Gómez are defenders that have already played in some matches with the first team, and will most likely have more opportunities in this position in the near future.

Before explaining how the team would cover the absence of Milito, who has won 10 titles with Barça, Guardiola dedicated some complimentary words to the Argentine: “I know few players with a competitive level like his. He has always been a very important player in his teams and he needed to play. It is a privilege to have had [him in the team] … He was injured and many players, at his age, would have left [football]; he did not do that,” Guardiola recalled.

During the press conference, the journalists have reminded Guardiola that on August 8 he will still be without Dani Alves and Alexis Sánchez, who have commitments with their national teams and will not be able to train with Barça: “This is a losing battle. The national teams rule and will continue ruling. We coexist with that … With the players that we have we should play well and compete better,” he commented, referring to the proximity between the international matches and the Spanish Super Cup.

On the situation of the team, after the rout by Chivas (4-1), Guardiola noted that “the preparation is not only physical or tactical work. Last year we also arrived at the Spanish Super Cup slowly, without 8 or 9 international players. Only the mind can win at these times and to do that we must do well in these matches.” On this same theme, Guardiola recalled that last year Barça had only played three games before the Spanish Super Cup match against Sevilla, a figure that this summer will expand to 6.

During the press conference carried out in Dallas, Pep Guradiola lamented the death of former director Jesus Farga: “I want to send a huge embrace to his family and the children, whom I know personally. He was a great businessman for the country and also for all the world. Also, he always had a great relationship with the world of sport.”

The 20 teams in the Spanish first division employed players from 43 different countries during the 2010-11 season. This number was less than the percentage of foreign players in the other top European leagues in France, Italy, Germany and England. In fact 63% of the footballers in La Primera are native to Spain, compared with England 37%, Germany 47%, Italy 53% and France 57%.