When FC Barcelona and Argentinean International Lionel Messi (22) scored his first goal against Valencia, he ran towards the cameras, lifting his jersey to show them the message beneath; written on his blue undershirt were the words “Para vos Valen.”  It translates, in Messi’s ‘Argentinean’ Spanish, to “For you, Valen.”  But who is Valen?

According to Catalán news site Sport, Valen is the recently-born daughter of Messi’s cousin, Maximiliano Biancucchi, who joined Mexican club Cruz Azul in 2010, after playing for Flamengo in Brazil for two years.  Given the dedication already written under his jersey, one might say that Messi was obliged to score.  In addition to Messi’s three goals, Maximiliano also scored a goal dedicated to his daughter.  The celebration is complete.

As a final note, Sport reported that Messi was allowed to take the match ball home, in honor of his fourth hat trick, one might suppose. Then again, perhaps the red and white Nike ball might some day soon end up at the feet of a young girl named Valen.

“They play the best football in the world and each player has the potential to decide the match. We can not just focus on Messi, but must also take account of Ibrahimovic, Xavi, Iniesta, Henry and others. It is a difficult night but we will do our best. “

FC Barcelona loan-out, VfB Stuttgart midfielder and Belarusian international Alexander Hleb (28).

The squad trained on Monday morning with the focus very much on Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Stuttgart.

The players were back at work on Monday morning after the shortest of breaks to enjoy the victory against Valencia. On Wednesday, they play the second leg of their CL R16 tie against Stuttgart with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.

Recovery exercises

The players that took part in the match against Valencia concentrated on recovery exercises while the rest of the squad went through a tougher routine.

Meanwhile, Carles Puyol, who was a last-minute back injury victim at the weekend, worked out separately from the group. The team captain arrived early for the session and got straight down to recovery work.

Muniesa, Oier and Vázquez

The rest of the squad trained at 100%, including Keita, who despite not being declared fully fit by Club doctors was able to train normally. Guardiola included reserve squad players Oier and Victor Vázquez in the session together with Muniesa, who was also named in Saturday’s squad.

Champions League Tuesday

Today’s session featured the same match ball that will be used against Stuttgart. The players will also have the chance to test the ball on Tuesday, when they will train in the Camp Nou at 6 pm. At 5.15 pm Sergio Busquets and manager Josep Guardiola will speak to reporters.

The plan for the week

Following the pattern established for all Barça’s CL matches, the team will stay at the Hotel La Florida from Tuesday evening until the match. At 12 noon on Wednesday they’ll have a light training session in the Camp Nou.

After Wednesday’s European encounter, the focus will switch to Sunday’s league match against Zaragoza. The players will have three days to prepare the game, the training sessions all taking place at 11 am.