At a press conference on Friday evening Barca president Joan Laporta has announced that the elections for the presidency of Fc Barcelona will be held on the 13th of June 2010.

“The board has decided that elections will be held on June 13th, the decision has been made and will be confirmed when the elections will be called at the end of April” said Laporta, thus clearing all the doubts that had been generated regarding to election date for the presidency of FC Barcelona.

“The date is right keeping in view the sporting reasons. We did not want the elections to interfere with the sport”, said Joan Laporta.

The president said that the decision has also been agreed by both coach Pep Guardiola and sporting dierector Txiki Begiristan, “Before deciding the date I contacted Pep Guardiola and I’ve discussed with Txiki Begiristan and both welcomed the decision”, added Laporta.

“I have never seen anything like Leo. Cristiano is special, has a different style and is more glamorous of the two, but the number one is Messi. After seeing Maradona I thought there would never be a better player, but then I saw Leo, Always finds space and takes on two or three players, showing a brutal level. It seems he has no limit!”

Sporting Gijon coach, Manuel Preciado speaks in awe of Barcelona superstar Leo Messi, when asked about who he preferred amongst Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo.

Josep Guardiola knows it won’t be easy to win three points at El Molinón. He has noted how strong Sporting are at home, where they have won 18 of their 24 points.

Speaking to the press after training on Friday at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, Guardiola pointed out that “El Molinón is a very difficult ground this season. Sporting are very strong at home and of the 24 points they have, they got 18 on their home ground, where the have only let in six goals. Those figures say it all.”

El Molinón the only concern

Guardiola said the game with Preciado’s side is the only matter on his mind right now and iterated that “there is no other concern.” On Barça’s opponent on Saturday, he spoke of an “orderly” side made up of “happy and very dynamic players … at home they have scored as many goals as we have”.

No Alves

Guardiola will be travelling without Dani Alves, who has failed to recover in time from a muscle pulled on Thursday. He said the Brazilian is staying behind because “he is not fully fit … but he is a player who has made a huge leap forward in a footballing sense … though whoever takes his place will provide us with something different”.

Touré and Sergio back

Sergio Busquets, meanwhile, has been declared fit, while Touré Yaya is back from the African Nations Cup. On Busquets, the manager said “he does things that make the players around him play better … he is noble and playing strongly, but always with the right intention”. As for Touré, he said “if he is in the squad it is because we consider that he is ready to play. He seems fine to me, he’s smiling”.

Big demands

As demanding as ever, Pep said that although his team has just scored 12 goals in 3 games, they can still do better. “We can still generate more chances and gain more control of matches”. He added that although they had only leaked two goals from set pieces all season “these are still dangerous moments and require a lot of care. We have to apply ourselves better”.

Election date

In reference to the next FC Barcelona presidential elections, Josep Guardiola was not clear about his preferences regarding the date. “There are pros and cons” he said. “The Board of Directors have much more information and know more about these things than I do, it’s their responsibility. They have to set the date. I think they’ll do what’s best for the club. I know they’ll do things correctly, and that the date they give will be a good one.”

However, he did speak of the effect elections can have on his players. “Possible names can come up without there being elections. That always happens and it is best to make the best of it, and carry on as normal. I feel sorry that some players give all they have got and then other names crop up, but we can’t do anything. I haven’t spoken to the players, so I don’t really now what they think. It is better for them to concentrate on their work and forget the rest of it. We will have to get through this in the best possible way”.

Victor Vazquez has been through a rather difficult period. Catalan sports paper, Sport, reports that Vazquez arrived late for training with Barca Atletic last Wednesday, due to oversleeping. Barca Atletic coach, Luis Enrique, decided to fine Vazquez by suspending him from the team for a week. Vazquez explained that he preferred to return to the group the following Monday.

Victor Vazquez has not remained stationary these days, as he has been training on his own, so he doesn’t lose his current fitness level. The striker recently recovered from an injury, which saw him sidelined for ten months, and the worst thing that could happen for Vazquez, is a stand-still in his progress.

During the month of January, he was called up to train with the first team by Pep Guardiola, for several weeks until he returned to Barca Athletic.

American actor Viggo Mortensen was in Venice several months ago for the premier of his latest film, The Road. According to an article in the Spanish newspaper El País, Mortensen turned a lot of heads, when he appeared in the lobby of the Hotel Excelsior for a press conference; he was dressed in the blue and white jersey of the Argentinean national team, with the name “Messi” on his back.    At that  time, in September, 2009, Argentina and Lionel Messi still had two World Cup Qualifiers left to play, the last being the decisive match in which Argentina defeated Uruguay 1-0 to  confirm their place in the World Cup.

Viggo Mortensen is probably best known for his role as Aragon and the King of Men in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.  What is not as well known is that he is a true “hincha,” or football support with an Argentinean soul.  Mortensen was born in New York City, but his family moved to Venezuela and then to Argentina when he was three-years-old, where they lived until he was eleven.  Although he moved on after that, to Denmark with his father and later back to the United States, it is apparent that he still holds a great passion for football and el albiceleste, and can be counted among the fans of  Lionel Messi.

“Barcelona will win the league, but struggle at the Molinon”

Sporting Gijon player and Barcelona loan-out Alberto Botia, when asked about his sides chances against the Champions on Saturday.