The Swede wants to continue Barca's success...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined a side that won everything last season, and he wants it to continue with him leading the line.

Barce get a chance to add another trophy, the Club World Cup, to their trophy cabinet shortly, and 'Ibra' is looking forward to the challenge. Speaking to Marca, he said, "First we have games against Kiev and Espanyol, but the Club World Cup is a very important trophy that we have never won."

"If we win, we would have won everything in one and a half seasons."

Ibrahimovic then moved on to the Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev, continuing, "We won two difficult games last week, and now we want to beat Dynamo and finish first."

"It will be another difficult game, because it is the last of the group stage."

The Swedish striker then explained why he has settled in to the side so comfortably, stating, "Barca plays in a style that I like a lot."

"All the players want to attack. I can play better, but after three months I understand what the coach wants.

"When you feel free and concentrated on the pitch, things are easier.

"I score so many goals because we attack a lot, and create a lot of chances."

Ibrahimovic then made a comparison to Serie A, saying, "There it is more important not to concede than to score."

"If you are winning 1-0, that is enough.

"But here, you always want to score more."

Finally, Ibra spoke of his partnership with Lionel Messi, stating, "Every day we understand each other more, and the fans are entertained when we play together."

Turkish Airlines (THY) and Spanish club Barcelona are in talks to make THY the official carrier of the club. The agreement which is set to be signed in three weeks will be for a three year contract.

The negotiations started last month with Barcelona stating the conditions for the sponsorship deal and THY has committed to these as of last week. The airline expects its global recognition to be significantly helped by this deal. Chief commercial officer of FC Barcelona Lander Unzueta was in Istanbul on Friday to hammer out the technical details of the agreement with THY representatives.

Barcelona wants THY to provide an aircraft for the team for the away matches of the Champions League next season and also for its 2010 scheduled commercial tours to Asian countries. In return, Barcelona will promote THY as the official carrier of the club. The aircraft will have the Barcelona logo and will have its official name changed to “Barcelona.”

If the deal goes through, THY will join the current four official sponsors that the team has, which are the Catalan companies La Caixa Bank and Estrella Damm, and the international corporations Nike and Audi.

The first major trip in the team’s agenda is the December 13th visit to Abu Dhabi for the World Club Championship tournament. This up-coming trip will be a big one for the Catalan club which has won every tournament that it has entered in the last year including the Spanish premier league La Liga championship, the King’s Cup, the Spanish Super Cup, the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup. Winning the World Club Championship will mean beating the world record by acquiring its sixth cup in one season. THY will need to organize the aircraft for this trip and if there is no agreement in place before the trip, Barcelona will have to hire a THY airplane.

Catalan sports paper Sport reports that Barcelona defender and Mexican international Rafael Marquez (30) has withdrawn of the bid for Mexican football team Atlas. “I am convinced that we were bringing the best option for Atlas, but there was some other obstacles on the deal too,” Marquez said in a statement that his group of partners made official its withdrawal from the bidding for the Mexican team. Marquez felt bad by having to make this decision because he wanted to retire in Atlas and also wanted to foster a long-term project at the team where he started his professional career.

The bid was planned between Marquez and Mexican singer Alejandro Fernandez. Businessman Guillermo Romo provided the strategic engagement of the Chicago Fire of the United States and a partnership with FC Barcelona to train forces base. “It was a great opportunity to Atlas become a XXI Century team, becoming a national team that would have added the passion of many Mexican football fans,” Romo said. Confirming the official withdrawal of its bid, the Marquez group expressed willingness to submit a new bid in the future for the club, provided there is transparency in the process.

The group justified its departure in the actions that the current director of Atlas took in recent days and said that “compromising financial and sporting schemes that were not commensurate with our interests.” Atlas director hired a new coach a week ago, Carlos Ischia, former Boca Juniors coach, to lead the team from the tournament that starts next January. The Mexican singer Alejandro Fernandez, son of Vicente Fernandez, said they lacked information to make decisions on funding commitments to the team. “Nobody in their right mind would put money for something without knowing what the immediate financial commitments and that information never had,” Fernandez said.

Catalan sports paper Sport reports that former Arsenal player Tony Adams is about to become coach of the New York Red Bulls and reportedly wants to take Barcelona forward Thierry Henry (32) with him to the USA. Adams played in Arsenal during the years 1983-2002, where he even played alongside Thierry Henry. They both have made history in Gunners shirt and now Adams has personally asked the French international to follow him to New York. The British coach knows that Henry has planned to finish his career in MLS, therefore he wouldn’t hesitate to ask Henry to join. Henry’s possible departure from Barcelona would obviously become effective from next season, because the player has no intention to leave the Catalan club sooner. Henry also wants to ensure his place in the World Cup, which will most likely be his last.

According to Catalan sports paper Sport, Barcelona forward and Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28) plans to stop playing friendly matches for his country in order to concentrate on games of FC Barcelona. Sweden failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa and Ibrahimovic said he had reached a point in his career where matches with Barcelona have to take priority. “It has always been a great honour to play in Swedish national team,” Ibrahimovic told in a press conference before Barcelona’s Champions League match at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday.

“For the time being I won’t play for the national team because I am not motivated. There are no important matches or the World Cup and so it’s very difficult. It would be expending energy for no reason, a sacrifice for nothing.” Ibrahimovic moved to Barcelona from Inter Milan in the summer and has scored 10 goals in 12 La Liga appearances, putting him second in the scoring charts behind Valencia striker David Villa, who has scored 11 goals. “There are so many games with Barcelona and so many things to think about that I hardly have time to think about the national team,” Ibrahimovic said. “I don’t know what could happen in the future, let’s see what happens next year.”

‘MESSI AND ME WILL DO SOMETHING BIG’

Ibrahimovic, happy 24 hours before the Champions’ return.

‘I want to win Dinamo, Espanyol and the Club World Cup.

‘I only think about Barça; this season I won’t play again with Sweden’

Milito comes back 20 months after.

Kiev awaits Barça with cold but without snow.

And now…to get the FIFA World Player. Barça 3 Madrid 2. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, the finalists to get the prize.

[Non Barça Related]

Olimpique – R.Madrid (20.45h/TVE-1). (Madrid will play) Without Kaká, who may need surgery. Only another defeat like the one against Alcorcón (4-0) – called ”Alcorconazo” in the media – could avoid Madrid to qualify for the Champions’ next round.

Espanyol: Tamudo will not play in Camp Nou.

In a press conference held at the club yesterday, Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he feels the team is “ready” for the immediate challenges awaiting the team towards the end of the year: “First is the match against Kiev, then Espanyol, but the Club World Cup trophy is a very important title, one that is still lacking with this club. If we win it, Barcelona would have conquered everything, all in a year and a half, and we are ready to win every one of them,” said a confident Ibrahimovic.

However, the striker is well aware that it will “not be easy” to beat Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday but after overcoming Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Deportivo, he is optimistic: “In the last few weeks, we have won against tough opponents, and now against Dynamo. We want to win this because it is a great chance for us to top our group. It will be another tough match as they are last in the group (though still with a chance), but if we win, everything will be fine.”

The Swede said he is progressing well with his new team and admits can still be better over time: “Barca played a game that I really like. They are always making good attacking moves and the whole team played their part.”

“After three months, I have a better understanding of what the coach wants. He speaks clearly and is very direct. He explains to me how he wants things done. And given the freedom to move on the pitch, I am less stressed, and I can focus more.”

“I know I can do better, but I have had injuries that prevented me from being a hundred percent. When I can have a full month without injury, things will be a lot better and easier,” he added.

Asked about a possible number of goals scored at the end of the season, Ibrahimovic would not want to give a specific number but does think he’ll improve on the goal tally that he achieved in Italy: “I want to score as many goals as possible as Barca is a very offensive team, they can create a lot of goal-scoring chances, and we usually have 5 or 6 players upfront”

“This never happened in the five years that I played in Italy. There, if you win 1-0; that is already enough. What is more important for them is not to concede. But here, they want you to score more goals,” he acknowledged.

Finally answering a question about his relationship with his strike partner, Lionel Messi, the Swede stressed that he gets along very well with the Argentine star on and off the pitch: “I like him a lot. I got to know him better with each passing day and I am having a lot of fun when we play together.”

Speaking to Catalan radio channel RAC 1, Barcelona defender and Ukrainian international Dmytro Chygrynskiy (23) is confident that if Barcelona continues to play with their usual game, they are sure to achieve a decisive victory against Dynamo Kiev in the last group stage game in the Champions League. Chygrynskiy however warned that Dynamo Kiev players are physically strong and well prepared for the match: “Shovkovsky, Shevchenko and Milievski are their best players, but sometimes Dynamo relies too heavily on them. If we play our kind of game we should have no problem.”

Chygrynskiy, a former Shakhtar Donetsk player, noted that the temperature is now higher than expected in Kiev: “Normally during this period the temperature is usually at around -14 °C or -15 °C (5-7 °F), but it may now be between -2 °C and -4 °C (25-29 °F). It is  not that cold,” he said jokingly.

The central defender admitted that life in the Catalan club has been positive: “I’m gradually adapting. I’m very happy because everyone in the team  is helping me out. For me, it is very important that I listen and learn.”

Touching on his playing chances, Chygrynskiy said he doesn’t mind not playing as much as he wants, since Puyol and Pique have always been first choice: “Of course every footballer wants to play every game, but for me the important thing is to help the team.”

Finally ‘Dima’ confessed that he communicates with Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola in English because “he wants to practice the language with me.”

In any case, according to the paper, the central defender’s Spanish is just about right. And he has only been in Barcelona for three months.

Former Chelsea and Bolton Wanderers star Eidur Gudjohnsen owes £6 million to two banks according to reports in the player's homeland. Reports suggest the forward, 31, became addicted to gambling while he was recovering from injury at former club Barcelona.

Reports reveal that Gudjohnsen has spent his last two summer breaks in Las Vegas, but the Icelandic international has vowed never to set foot in a casino again. Eidur is said to owe Banque Havilland in Luxembourg £4million and Glitnir Bank in Iceland £1.8million. Other debts make the figure more than £6million. Gudjohnsen is paid £3million a year by his current club, Monaco.

A source said: "Eidur is a lovely guy and everyone thought he had beaten his gambling problems."

A spokesman for Gudjohnsen said: "If there are some debts it can't be too serious."