EMBARASSING!

Only a two-games ban for Ronaldo.

Competition (Committee) doesn’t consider the blow which broke Mitilga’s nose an agression.

To defend Ronaldo, Madrid used Messi and Valiente’s video.

Top secret: Barça will take it in mind. Madrid’s option of using Leo (to defend Ronaldo) didn’t feel good for azulgrana’s club.

The six cups dinner. The squad celebrated Pep’s decision of staying at Barça.

PEP PAYS THE CUPS

He called the squad to a dinner to celebrate the titles won.

Blaugrana players and staff stuck together in a dinner where they reinforced their good relationship to face the second leg of the season.

A champion’s pact. Staff and players plot to win la Liga and the Champions League.

[Non Barça Related]

Madrid: Only a two-game ban for Ronaldo.

The desperate attempt of Madrid’s journalists and the dubious means of Madrid rummaging through the file to try and compare the aggression of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (24) on Malaga’s Mtiliga who broke his nose in the incident to Leo Messi’s (22) actions on Marc Valiente (22) that went unpunished lost all its weight after learning the version of Valiente the ‘victim’ of the Argentines actions.

“They are not comparable”

Sevilla’s Marc Valiente, told the program ‘The Tier’ Ona FM, and made his views clear on the incident, “When that play happened it wasn’t given much importance but now it appears that it does, anyhow I don’t think those two moves are comparable”.

“Leo did not harm”

Valiente, who played alongside Messi in his his youth days at Barca said: “Our play was a scuffle between the two of us. I grabbed him (Messi) with my two arms unlike Mtiliga (who grabbed Ronaldo with his one arm) and Messi lets go off my arm, but he always pushed me on the chest and never on the face”.

The 22 year old also recalled, “I have a good relationship with Messi, we played together in Barca’s youth system and at the end of that game he said he was sorry, but I knew Leo never intended do any harm”.

The players were treated to a tough training session on Tuesday with the emphasis on the physical side of the game. Jeffren took part in the whole session while Sergio Busquets avoided some of the exercises.

Following on from Monday’s light recovery session, the Barça fitness coaches put the players through a demanding fitness session on Tuesday afternoon. Although reporters were only permitted to watch the first quarter of an hour of the session, it was clear that the emphasis would be on fitness rather than ball skills.

Busquets on the mend

Sergio Busquets, who has been sidelined by a painful bruised kidney, is gradually getting back to normal training. On both Monday and Tuesday he was able to join his team-mates for part of the session.

Jeffren recovered from tonsillitis

Meanwhile, Jeffren returned to training on Tuesday after missing the previous day’s session due to tonsillitis. However, he has still not received the medical all clear on the leg injury he picked up in the friendly in Kuwait.

For his part, Seydou Keita worked out in the gym. However, he is not available for the Sporting match due to suspension.

Pictures of Barca players in training:

“Barça is the best team I have ever seen in my life, even better than Milan of the 80’s”

Former Real Madrid legend and current Getafe coach José Miguel González Martín del Campo, Michel (46) while speaking to Radio Marca.

Catalan sports tabloid Sport reports this morning that Arsenal are set to step up their interest in Barcelona’s 18-year-old attacking midfielder Gai Assulin.

The young Israeli playmaker is out of contract at the end of the 2009/2010 season and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been known to be an admirer of Assulin for some time now.

Assulin has been available to sign a new deal with a foreign club since January 1, 2010 and although the young starlet is keen to stay at the Camp Nou, Arsenal are committed to making the signing.

The youngest ever Israeli international (Assulin made his debut for the national side at 16) has spent much of the season training with the Barcelona first team and although he played his first official match for the first team in the Copa del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa on 28 October 2009, he hasn’t made an appearance in the Spanish Primera Division or the Champions League.

Talks between Assulin’s agent, Pini Zahavi, and Barcelona are expected in the next two weeks and Arsenal are keeping a keen eye on developments.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder is one of the most highly rated youngsters at the Nou Camp and he has made rare appearances for the first team this season in pre-season friendlies and the Copa del Rey. He moved to Barcelona at the age of 12, and proved his abilities during the 2007/2008 season with Barcelona B, when he scored nine goals in 24 appearances.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has a history of poaching Barcelona’s youngest stars, most famously with current Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas as well as Fran Merida.

Barca’s Swedish striker has scored one more goal than at the same stage in the season last year when he was at Inter. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has also had 5 assists in the league so far.

“Ibra is playing much better than he thinks, but since he’s so competitive and demands so much from himself, he always wants more”. That’s what Guardiola reckons and the stats seem to support the boss – Ibra’s figures are more than acceptable after the first half the league season.

One more than last season

Ibrahimovic came into his own with Inter in the 2008/09 season and was the league’s leading scorer with 25 goals. He’d chalked up 10 at this stage last season, one less than he boasts this year – 11 goals after playing in 16 of the team’s league matches.

Key strikes

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played a decisive part in the team’s unbeaten league record, with 6 of his goals opening the scoring or proving to be the winning goals – with two of them, against Madrid and Espanyol, having a very special value for the Barca fans.

Great passer

Although he’s been going through a bit of a goal drought of late, Ibra’s contribution to the team, with his passes and support have been vital to the team’s success. Against Getafe, Racing, Zaragoza, Mallorca and Valladolid he’s had important assists, with the lovely pass to set up Pedro’s goal against Mallorca perhaps the pick of the bunch.

Ibra’s stats after 19 league games

Season 2001/02, 5 goals (total 6)
Season 2002/03, 7 goals (total 13)
Season 2003/04, 8 goals (total 13)
Season 2004/05, 6 goals (total 13)
Season 2005/06, 3 goals (total 7)
Season 2006/07, 8 goals (total 15)
Season 2007/08, 13 goals (total 17)
Season 2008/09, 10 goals (total 25)
Season 2009/10, 11 goals