You can buy the best coaches. You can buy the best players. You can get the most magnificent and awe inspiring stadiums built with money. You can have the coolest kits made by the most fashionable apparel houses. But as a popular advertising campaign reminds us time and again – “there are some things money can’t buy.” Team spirit is one of them. Passion, desire, synergy, telepathic understanding, happiness and togetherness – all fall in the priceless bracket. And this is what, say experts, has separated this Barcelona Dream Team from its rivals. Where does this come from? It comes from a united team. It comes from hours of training that is also fun. It comes from team mates who are also friends. It comes from a team that is also family.

It comes from a happy dressing room.

Catalan paper Sport had, some time back, revealed some inside information about one of the most hallowed places in contemporary footballing mythology – the Barcelona dressing room. totalBarca takes you inside the pantheon of Blaugrana Gods; the place where Villa was dying to come; where Filipe would kill to enter; the place Messi and Ibra and Puyol call home.

Find interesting information, pictures and videos after the jump.

The fulcrum of the turnaround that Pep Guardiola has engineered is undoubtedly the dressing room. Frank Rijkaard’s pasillo performing squad was not bereft of quality. It had Ronaldinho, Deco, Zambrotta and much of what Pep started with himself. But it also had friction. The Camp Nou that year was home to several “camps” within the team, which doesn’t augur well for a squad that intends to conquer Spain and Europe.

To maximize the synergy within the team, Pep had to ensure that the canteranos, the Africans, the old horses, the new recruits, the Europeans and the South Americans all got along well and energies within the team harmonized in resonance rather than clash in cacophony. As always, Pep’s planning was meticulous, minute and effective.

Titi Henry and buddy Rafa Marquez occupy adjacent lockers, next to Victor Valdes who occupies one end – much like on the pitch. Also together are Yaya Toure, Keita and Abidal and the Argentine pair of Gabi Milito and Leo Messi. Obvious pains, however, have been taken to separate the two imps – Pique and Alves – to get some leash on their pranks. Pique has been placed between the midfield duo of Xavi and Iniesta in the cantera corner, almost as if to discipline him. Alves has the corner locker next to his opposite flank-man Eric Abidal.

The inset picture on the bottom left corner shows the physiotherapists and doctors’ room where Gabi Milito was residing for the past 500 days. Not. Apologies for the cheap shot. The pictures above that show the sauna and pools which look like this…

Other dressing room secrets revealed include the news that El Capitan Puyol takes his role rather seriously and literally owns the dressing room. He reportedly arrives an hour before all others for training and opens up the dressing room. The ordained-by-the-fans Captain of tomorrow, Gerard Pique, doesn’t seem to be following in Puyol’s footsteps as he is often the last to report for training. Team meals, about which Pep has been very particular usually get divided over three tables – the Catalans, the South Americans and the French Speaking. Henry and Marquez are the most chic of the gent Blaugrana. They usually stay back longer after the matches for a massage and are often spotted appreciating themselves in the mirrors.

Pep himself, it is said, never enters the dressing room himself and firmly believes it is the sanctum sanctorum of the players exclusively.

Here are some videos of the Barca dressing room. They may be a little dated. The residents may have changed, but you’ll get a hang of the interiors alright…

In the Champions League post-match press conference after the Dynamo Kiev’s match, FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola as usual heaped praise on his players and emphasised to the media present the significance of their qualification: “I want to especially congratulate all of my players because they have made a tremendous effort to achieve this.”

“This has been a terrible group, and we have had to overcome many adversities. The third placed team (Rubin Kazan) for example, has taken five points from us,” acknowledging that competing against the other three league champions can only make Barcelona stronger.

He was also impressed by his players’ determination and calmness after going behind so early in the match:  “They have reacted well to the Dynamo goal, coming barely just after the kick-off. They have to be patient in their movements, and only then can they have control of the game.”

Visually satisfied, Guardiola declared last night’s win and qualification as group leader was “one of the happiest days” since he took over the Catalan team, and wanted to highlight the team’s 70 percent possession in all of their group matches; proof, according to him that “at no time” had his players “ever lost their essence.”

“Last season, even though we have to play our quarter-final and semi-final second-leg matches away, we still go on to be the champion. But obviously having to play (the second-leg) at home clearly has its advantage,” he said, acknowledging what it means to top the standings.

Spanish news agency EFE reports that FC Barcelona medical staffs have confirmed that Argentine striker Lionel Messi was injured and could miss this Saturday’s league derby against Espanyol.

Messi suffered a strong challenge from Dynamo’s Leandro Almeida towards the end of the Group F Champions League match, and left the pitch limping. After an initial evaluation, the team doctor is able to affirm that Messi has a Grade 1 0r 2 ankle sprain in his right leg.

N.B. An ankle sprain is an injury to the ligament in the ankle. The ligaments are structures that control excessive movement of the joint. When an ankle sprain happens, the ligament is stretched too far, and is either partially or completely torn.

Grade 1 Ankle Sprain: Stretching of the ligament. The symptoms tend to be limited to pain and swelling. Most patients can walk without crutches, but may not be able to jog or jump. Usual Recovery time = 2 weeks.

Grade 2 Ankle Sprain: Severe yet only partial tearing of the ligament. There is usually more significant swelling and bruising caused by bleeding under the skin. Patients usually have pain with walking, but can take a few steps. Usual recovery time = 3 to 6 weeks.

Grade 3 Ankle Sprain: Complete tears of the ligaments. The ankle is usually quite painful, and walking can be difficult. Patients may complain of instability, or a giving-way sensation in the ankle joint. Usual recovery time = up to 1 year.

Pep Guardiola has hinted that the Argentinian may not play against Espanyol, reminding everyone of the upcoming Club World Cup tournament.

“He has an insurmountable competitive soul. Another player might be satisfied with the Golden Ball, but he does not. He gets motivated, always wanting more and has a huge ambition,” the coach said.

FC Dynamo Kyiv 1 – 2 FC Barcelona

Stadium  : Valeri Lobanovskiy
Capacity  : 16,900
Referee  : Howard Webb
Managers : Valerey Gazzaev (Dynamo Kyiv) Josep Guardiola (Barcelona)

Player Ratings for FC Barcelona

1. Victor Valdes - An absolute howler for the first goal of the game as he fumbled the ball into his own net. Had a very routine evening otherwise, with nothing much to do between the sticks. -  4.5

2. Daniel Alves – Was great going forward and he offered a lot of width on the right hand side, even getting past the Dynamo left back Magrao on a couple of occasions and he linked up well with Messi and was on the end of some great through balls by Xavi. Did very well defensively as he tracked back and made some well timed tackles on the Dynamo wing forward Yarmolenko.  – 6.5

3. Gerard Pique – Was not one of his better performances. Committed the foul that led to the goal and was beaten for pace by Yarmolenko on a couple of occasions. Was booked for an intentional handball and had a nervy first half. Recovered well in the second half and finished off the game strongly before being withdrawn for Rafa Marquez in the 82nd minute. – 6

5. Carles Puyol – The captain was typically strong in defense, and dealt with set pieces well. But did not have and eventful night as Dynamo did not threaten to score. – 6.5

22. Eric Abidal – It was an impressive performance by the Frenchman as he offered good support to Iniesta and Keita on the left and provided a perfect grounded ball for Xavi in the box for the goal. He was the best defender in the Blaugrana backline tonight, and made a crucial interception with his head when the score was tied at 1-1.    – 7

16. Sergio Busquets – It was a matured performance by the 20 year old as he distributed the ball well and also recovered possesion on a number of occasions.  –6

6. Xavi Hernandez - A fantastic first half showing by the midfield maestro. Controlled the tempo of the game. Did very well to evade the man marking early on. Involved in a lot of one touches passes with Messi and Iniesta and split the dynamo defense with some accurate through balls on a number of occasions. Will be very pleased with scoring a great team goal on his 100th appearance in this competition.  – 8

15. Seydou Keita – Was strong in his tackling and covered the most distance for his team. Worked his socks off and linked up well with Iniesta. – 6

8. Andres Iniesta – Was deployed on the wing, but kept dropping into midfield and played a few nice one-two’s. Was involved in the buildup play for the goal. Kept possesion well and made a few runs down the wing. – 6.5

10. Lionel Messi – Did not start off brightly and should have brought Barca back on level terms on 13 minutes. Was an absolute livewire in 2nd half. Ran at the defense all night, and Dynamo could not manage to get the ball off him legally. Dropped into midfield when Barca were down by a goal, and was a hugely influential in keeping possession. A hard working performance was capped by a superb free kick.  – 8.5

9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Was the target man for the aerial balls and did his job fantastically as he held the ball really well throughout the game. Was involved in the buildup for the first goal. Made some unnecessary challenges that resulted in him getting booked and was caught offside on quite a few occasions. Almost knocked out Shovkovskiy before the final whistle with an absolute cannonball, and will consider himself unlucky to not have scored from that free kick. 6.5

Substitutes

17. Pedro Rodriguez – Had very few touches of the ball in the 8 minutes that he played. N/A

4. Rafa Marquez – Did not see much of the ball as he played just a couple of minutes. N/A

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Dinamo 1 – 2 Barça

Barça revovered after the initial Dinamo’s goal, imposed it’s phylosophy and qualified to the round of 16 as group leader.

There’s only one player (who got the) Ballon d’Or, Messi. The crack scored a great goal shoting a free kick.

Xavi scored in his match number 100 in Europe after a super play which lasted 53 seconds.

Leo ended the match injured and is doubtful for the derby.

Bayern and Milan, two of the teams Barça could face in the round of 16. The possible rivals are: Milan, Bayern, Olympique Lyon, Porto, CSKA Moscow, Stuttgard and Olympiacos.

[Non Barça Related]

Raúl will leave Madrid at the end of this season to play in the United States for two seasons

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Kiev 1- 2 Barça

Barça qualifies as the group leader.

Xavi and Messi shines in Barça’s victory, scoring a goal each.

The Argentinean was tackled and could miss the derby.

In the picture: Both main protagonists hugged each other after the second goal.