FC Barcelona captain and Spanish international defender Carles Puyol (31) admits Barcelona could be in for a bad night if they underestimate the threat posed by in-form Stuttgart in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Barca make the trip to Germany having bounced back from their first league defeat of the season against Atletico Madrid by thumping Racing Santander 4-0 on Saturday night.

That was the Catalan giants’ sixth victory in seven league games, but on Tuesday night they will come up against a Stuttgart who are in just as good form.

Stuttgart may still be struggling down in ninth place in the Bundesliga but they too have won six of their last seven and at the weekend thrashed Cologne 5-1 away from home, with Cacau netting four of his side’s goals.

When the draw was made back in December, Stuttgart were in the midst of a 10-match winless run in all competitions, but it is a different story now and a wary Puyol said, “They’re playing better now and they are a dangerous team. added the Barca captain, who scored one of his side’s goals as they beat Stuttgart 2-0 away during the group stages of the 2007/08 Champions League.

“If we don’t go there focused, we could really have a bad time,”

Barca have struggled badly with absentees recently and the Champions League holders will again be without Seydou Keita and Eric Abidal for the game.

Stuttgart coach Christian Gross is likely to be without left-back Arthur Boka for both meetings against Barca after he suffered a dislocated shoulder in training prior to the Cologne match that could keep him sidelined for a month.

One might or might not know, but FC Barcelona midfielder and Spanish international Andrés Iniesta (25) has a website, a blog, and an official Facebook page.  His website and blog have versions in Catalan, Spanish, and English (although, the English translations read a bit like a “Google” translations: i.e. not the best.  Through all of these sources, he is kind enough to reach out to the Barcelona fans and share his thoughts and more. Below are some of his recent comments:

On February  21, 2010, after the 4-0 victory over Racing Santander, Andrés Iniesta wrote on his blog:

    Today we achieved three important points that allow us to continue as leaders for another week.  We have played a very complete game and from the start we have been able to impose our style of play.  Personally, I am very happy that in addition to the victory, today I have celebrated my 300th match in the Barça jersey, and what better way to celebrate than with a goal.  Now, it’s time to think about the match on Tuesday in Stuttgart.

On February 14, 2010, FC Barcelona lost their first game of the season, away to Atletico Madrid, and following the defeat, Iniesta posted a message on his Facebook page, along with a link to an article on the Inside Nike (Spain) blog.  Andrés Iniesta wrote on his Facebook page:

    From Nike Football, they have passed along this article published on their blog.  I wanted to share it because it sums up perfectly the feelings that we have right now in the locker room at this important moment of the season.

From the Nike blog:

    The defeat changes everything.  The defeat changes nothing. One after another, your team strings together 21 league battles without a loss, beating your own mark from the previous season.  Goal after goal.  play after play.

    You go out each day to the training field as if you did not know it. Asking the most of yourself and of your teammates, reviewing good moves and errors, sweating and concentrating on the next match.  You clench your teeth. Your muscles tense.  You inject speed in each play.  Touch in each pass. Control in the reception.  Precision in each shot.

    But one day the streak ends.  The defeat changes everything.

    The competition starts all over.  The streak equals zero.And what now?  You go out each day to the training field as if you did not know it. Asking the most of yourself and of your teammates, reviewing good moves and errors, sweating and concentrating on the next match.  You clench your teeth. Your muscles tense.  You inject speed in each play.  Touch in each pass. Control in the reception.  Precision in each shot.

    A champion never rests on victory.  The defeat changes nothing.

Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers will be incharge of the whistle in Tuesday’s Champions League encounter between VfB Stuttgart and FC Barcelona. By day, Kuipers (36), makes his living as a supermarket owner. He received his FIFA badge in 2006, and made his way into the elite tier of international referees in 2009. His father was also a football referee.

Kuipers made his debut in the Champions League earlier this season when he presided over Barcelona’s 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev at the Nou Camp. Kuipers’ performance in that match came under close scrutiny, most notably for his failure to award a penalty to Barcelona for a clear foul on Andres Iniesta who was hauled down in the box by a Kiev defender. Since that evening, Kuipers has overseen international matches between Atletico – Chelsea, Debrecen – Liverpool, and Wolfsburg – Manchester United.

THRASHING, HUMILIATION AND CHAMPIONS!

Barça 80 – 61 Madrid

Basketball Barça won Copa del Rey in a memorable match in which they hammered away at Madrid

Barça travels today to Stuttgart and tomorrow starts Bernabéu’s assault. In their way to the Champions League with Alves and Xavi.

[Non Barça Related]

Madrid 6 - 2 Villarreal. Higuaín and Kaká scored two goals each.

Málaga 2 – 1 Espanyol. Espanyol’s defence throws away the points.

Barça, Copa del Rey Champion.

Barça 80 – 61 Madrid.

Xavi Pascual’s team smashed Madrid since the beginning to the end in a spectacular match.

The blaugranaswon their 21st title, Fran Vázque was chosen MVP and the treble is not a dream anymore.

Alves and Xavi, to Stuttgart. Barça travels today to Stuttgart and Pep wanted the two cracks to come along. Xavi could play some minutes tomorrow in the champion’s return.

Ibrahimovic and Puyol, recovered from their muscular upsets, would be ready to play against Hleb’s team.

[Non Barça Related]

Málaga 2 -1 Espanyol.Two mistakes made Espanyol to lose but they performed good.

Madrid 6 – 2 Villarreal. Muñíz smoothed the way for Madrid’s thrashing against a bad rival.

“We cannot afford to make any expensive errors, but I see that the team want to win the Champions League again and to do that we must give everything.”

Carles Puyol, FC Barcelona captain and Central Back, at a press conference.

VFB Stuttgart striker Cacau, 28, has spoken of his expectations for his side’s upcoming Champions League tie against FC Barcelona. Speaking at a press conference after Stuttgart’s demolition of FC Koln, who were beaten 5-1 at Kolns’ RheinEnergie Stadion, the Brazilian-born goalscorer confirmed his excitement for the game against the European Champions.

“Now we are looking forward to FC Barcelona on Tuesday. We need to bundle our energy for that one, then, if all things go well, maybe we can cause an up-set.”

Cacau, who is now a naturalized German citizen, only recently returned from injury, and arguably only turned out for VFB’s game against Koln due to the suspension of regular 1st choice forward, the Romanian International Ciprian Marica. But Stuttgart need not have worried about the match fitness or temperament of the striker, as he scored four of the team’s five goals, putting himself firmly in the frame for a start against the Catalan club.

Cacau has played a part in 167 Bundesliga games for Stuttgart, scoring 55 goals in that time. He is the leading top-scorer of his club, this season with 6 goals from 15 games, closely followed by fellow striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, with the Russian scoring 5 goals in 20 appearances. Alexander Hleb, who is on loan at Stuttgart from FC Barcelona has played 20 games for the Germans. He has not found the net in an official match so far this season, and has a single assist to his name. It is likely all three will feature against Barca on Tuesday.

FC Barcelona playmaker Andres Iniesta, 25, has given his full backing and support to the Spanish charity FEDER (the Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases).

Don Andres has backed the charity’s current campaign, which aims to increase research about rare diseases. To raise awareness of their cause, the FEDER organization will hold a Rare Disease’s Awareness Day at the Spanish parliament on the 28th of February 2010, with the Spain International allowing his name and image to be used to raise publicity and funds for the event.

The day will serve to publicise the many problems and shortfalls faced by people who suffer from rare diseases such as low life expectancy, lack of clear and concise care and treatment, a lack of funding and research into such diseases and the difficulty patients have in finding, and funding, appropriate health care.

The club has backed Iniesta’s support of the cause, claiming solidarity with the campaign and playing a video to promote the Rare Diseases Awareness Day at last night’s game against Racing Santander at Nou Camp.

For more information about the charity and it’s work, you can visit www.rarediseasesday.org

According to Spanish newspaper, Marca, Josep Guardiola is the most successful FC Barcelona coach of all time, during his first 100 matches in charge of FC Barcelona.

The former Barcelona midfield genius come coach, led his team to a 4–0 victory against Racing Santander, to achieve a unique 71 victories, 19 draws and only 10 defeats. During this time, Guardiola has won no less than 6 trophies.

The very first defeat for Barcelona was the La Liga opener against Numancia at Los Pajaritos last season, where the game ended with a 1 – 0 defeat. Another interesting fact, is that none of the 10 defeats suffered, ended by a more than a single one goal difference. Another 2 defeats were recorded at the end of the year, when the title race was practically over.

During the first 100 games, FC Barcelona has scored 242 goals (2.42 goals / game) and conceived  only 76 (0.76 goals / game).

With a record breaking run, Pep Guardiola has led FC Barcelona to victory in 71% of their games, which has earned him a first place in the statistics. Helenio Herrera finished second with 70.6 %, (143 games with 101 victories, 20 draws and 22 defeats), and Slovak Daucik Ferdinand placed third 60.7 % (with 91 victories in 150 games).

Outside of top 3:
- Frank Rijkaard (273 games and 160 wins) – 58.6 %
- Johan Cruyff (250 wins in 430 games) – 58.14 %
- Louis van Gaal (111 victories in 200 games) – 55.5 %
- Terry Venables (91 victories of its 169 games) – 53.85 %

It seems like after the recent injury wave that stuck Barca and left a couple of key players sidelined the recovery periods have cut significantly. While Brzilian full back Dani Alves (26) and Spanish internaitonal midfielder Xavi Hernandez (30) are on the list for the octavos, they are still awaiting the green light from the Barca medical’s. Meanwhile, Swedish international forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28) is a certainty for Germany, despite having unpleasantries with his right ankle.

Dani Alves suffered an injury during warm-up before the Getafe clash and Xavi was injured in the Vicente Calderon against Atletico Madrid.

According to Madrid sports tabloid Marca, Thiago Alcantara and Dmytro Chygrynskiy (cup-tied) are not included. Instead of them, Barca Atltetic defender Marc Bartra (18) and midfielder Jonathan Dos Santos (19) will make it to Stuttgart.

Barcelona will take on VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday 23 in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Germany.

Squad for the Stuttgart game:
Goalkeepers : Valdés and Pinto
Defenders : Alves, Piqué, Márquez, Puyol, Maxwell, Milito and Bartra
Midfielders : Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Touré and Jonathan Dos Santos
Attackers : Ibrahimovic, Messi, Bojan, Henry, Pedro and Jeffren