The Press Room

His book release has been pushed back by like three weeks according to amazon.com.

Evolution of man...

Messi, Iniesta | -> | Rangers

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4093099/They-feared-Messi-would-get-a-kicking.html

Graham huner's book "Barca: the making of the greatest team in the world" is now available for kindle on amazon.com for $9! not bad, considering it would have cost me at least double that to have the book shipped to the US, and i would have had to wait another 2 weeks for it to be released. just downloaded it, i'll post a short review when i finish it in a few days

Let me know if it's worth reading everest, I have a kindle too and would consider reading it.

Wow, Man Marking. What a terrible tactic. We should have beaten the hell out of Bilbao had the pitched been in proper state and we were prepared against man-marking.

B boys celebrate Sergi Roberto's 20th birthday.

^^^^ LMAO

James0311 wrote:


^^^^ LMAO

Hahahahahahhahahahaha

Awesome peace from Crackovia

Any news on whether Guardiola is going to sign an extension? Do you guys think it's likely?

I'd say there's a 95% chance Guardiola will stay. I don't see him leaving us, much less during "bad" times (ie: not winning the league/when we're down 10 points). And the people closest to him all seem confident that he'll stay.

http://naturalpolice.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/why-iniesta-is-the-greatest-attacking-midfielder-of-our-time/

Barça’s Filipino forward, 100 years on
(FIFA.com) Saturday 25 February 2012
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With Lionel Messi now just 13 goals away from equalling Cesar Rodriguez’s final tally of 235, it has been widely written that Barcelona’s scoring record is about to fall. Not so. The magnificent Cesar might lead the way in competitive strikes, but a look at the Barça record books reveals a different name, that of Paulino Alcantara, atop its all-time scoring chart.

An amazing haul of 357 goals from as many appearances established this Filipino phenomenon among the club’s earliest icons, and the first of those goals came 100 years ago today – on a truly remarkable debut. Indeed, Alcantara features in Barça’s annals not only as its record goalscorer, but also as its youngest-ever debutant, as he took to the field against Catala SC aged just 15 years, four months and 18 days. And he didn’t just play either; he scored – three times! A legend had been born.

Born in the Philippines to a Spanish military officer father and a Filipino mother, this teenage sensation proved a pioneering figure in more respects than one. No Asian player had ever represented a European club before he moved to Spain, and few since have come close to matching his extraordinary achievements.

Alcantara was still just 19 when, having helped his Catalan employers win the Copa del Rey and two Campionat de Catalunyas, he returned for a two-year stint in his homeland, adding a couple of Filipino championship medals to his collection. Barça, however, emerged empty-handed from each of the seasons in which he was missing, and it was only when Alcantara was lured back that the club’s first truly golden era began.

By the time he retired in 1927 to become a doctor, the 31-year-old had won 17 major titles, and had represented Spain, Catalonia and the Phillipines at international level. Indeed, it was while on duty with La Roja that Alcantara earned his nickname, ‘El Romperedes’ (The Netbreaker), thanks to a 30-yard thunderbolt against France that smashed through the netting.

This supreme striker was also one of the first players to write memoirs about his football career, and a statue of him stands to this day outside the headquarters of the Philippine Football Federation. A century may have passed since his glorious debut, but Alcantara - one of the beautiful game’s early greats – remains well worth remembering.

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1589363.html?cid=rssfeed&att=

Great article, I learned a lot about Alcantara by reading that, thanks for sharing Khaled

finished graham hunter's book a few weeks ago, sorry i didnt post a short review earlier i've actually been out of the country and havent had internet access.

overall it was a really good book, and i think that it will be especially enjoyable for those barca fans who aren't in major media markets. those of you who live in spain (and maybe even europe in general) probably won't be too impressed with it because im sure much of what he wrote is common knowledge. that said, lots of fascinating stories about how the team came close to losing iniesta to rangers, messi at one point to madrid, the influence of cryuff, internal feuds within the club/management, and general politics at barca, etc. the story about mourinho's interview with the club was great to read about in detail too. many of the chapters also focus on individuals, telling their stories and how they came to be at barca. overall the book is very thorough and does a great job at capturing both the picture of the current barca squad and the historical context of the club in general.

if anyone is interested i think i can lend it out for up to 2 weeks on kindle

When does it come out in book-form, I'm a traditionalist. Preferably soft-back.

If a tree hasnt been knocked down in making it, im not reading it lol

But seriously, like Kizz, im an old school guy who wants an actual book.

FC Barcelona is ceding their Buenos Aires youth development program (FC Barcelona Juniors Lujan) to Boca Juniors

According to 442 Argentina:

http://442.perfil.com/2012-03-02-115574-el-acuerdo-entre-boca-y-barcelona/

La alianza dará que hablar. Boca y el Barcelona llegaron a un acuerdo y ambos clubes se embarcarán en una iniciativa conjunta de formación de jugadores con sede en “La Candela”. De esta manera, el club catalán le traspasará a los xeneizes el proyecto que tenía con el Coqui Jorge Raffo, actual coordinador General de Fútbol Infanto-Juvenil de la entidad de La Ribera.

La confirmación del acuerdo llegó a través de la página oficial del Barcelona, que aseguró que el club tendrá la prioridad sobre futuros pases de los jugadores que allí surjan y que a partir de ahora vestirán la camiseta de Boca. También sobre otros juveniles surgidos de las inferiores xeneizes.

Por su parte, Boca tendrá a su disposición “la estructura y los recursos humanos del Barcelona para instruir a sus entrenadores con el objetivo de transmitir toda su filosofía y forma de trabajo en el desarrollo del fútbol juvenil”, indicó el club catalán.

El Barça aclaró que mantendrá los derechos sobre más de 300 futbolistas que formó desde 2006 en su proyecto con el Centro de Entrenamiento para Futbolistas de Alto Rendimiento (CEFAR) que lideraba Raffo, actual responsable de las inferiores xeneizes, que también tenía sede en “La Candela” y que llevó a la conformación del FC Barcelona Juniors Luján.

Estos 300 jugadores “actualmente están repartidos por diferentes clubs argentinos” y “con independencia del acuerdo que se firma ahora, el Barcelona mantiene su derecho de futuro sobre todos ellos”, informó el club catalán.

Boca también confirmó la noticia y habló de un acuerdo “histórico”, que se presentará oficialmente este lunes, en la sala de prensa de La Bombonera en Buenos Aires, y contará con la presencia de Daniel Angelici, presidente de Boca Juniors, Jordi Mestre, directivo responsable de fútbol formativo del Barcelona, y el propio Raffo.