Striking rivals out to steal a march

As FC Barcelona start the defence of their UEFA Champions League title at FC Internazionale Milano all talk focused on Zlatan Ibrahimović and Samuel Eto'o as they prepare to come up against their former clubs. The forwards traded places in the summer, Ibrahimović swapping San Siro for Catalonia and Eto'o making the opposite journey two months after scoring the opener in Barça's 2-0 final triumph over Manchester United FC in Rome.

José Mourinho, Inter coach
It's just the first game. I don't want to think Barça are the favourites. We have started to play in a different way and we want to become a team with our own characteristics that work for both Italian and European football. Eto'o is always motivated, and he was born to win. He loves playing football and when he's on the pitch he becomes another person. He left Barcelona, but I'm sure it's still in his heart. I don't think this match will be something extraordinary for him, he will play like he always does. He doesn't have to prove anything, we all know his qualities. Guardiola is happy with Ibra, I'm happy with Eto'o and Eto'o is happy here. We are playing against Barcelona, not against Ibra. Anyway, it is always a pleasure to come up against the best players. I will tell you the starting eleven and then leave: Júlio César, Maicon, Samuel, Lucio and Chivu, Stanković or Muntari, Zanetti, Thiago Motta, Sneijder, Milito and Eto'o.

Josep Guardiola, Barcelona coach
This game won't determine who wins the group. This is a very tough group, with four national champions. It's a pleasure to be in Italy. Last season we didn't face a single Italian opponent. Personally it's an honour for me to face a coach as great as Mourinho who has won trophies in three different countries. Inter have won four Scudetti in a row, with different players and coaches, which proves their strength. We have to play great to win. They're a strong team. Mourinho may have revealed his starting eleven but I won't do it, I never do it. I wanted Ibrahimović because we knew him and his winning mentality well. He's adapting very quickly and we wait for him to be 100 per cent. I hope I get the chance to say hi to Eto'o tomorrow. I want to thank him for the five wonderful years he spent in Barcelona. He is a champion and it won't be easy.

Key stats
• Barcelona are aiming to become the first team to defend the European crown since AC Milan in 1989/90. Inter are seeking a first European Champion Clubs' Cup since back-to-back wins in 1964 and 1965.

• The sides have met in the UEFA Champions League before. Barcelona were convincing 3-0 home winners in their second group-stage encounter on 18 February 2002 before the teams played out a goalless draw the following week.

• Inter's Javier Zanetti and Barcelona pair Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández played in both matches, with Andrés Iniesta an unused substitute at San Siro.

• Inter have lost just one of 15 home matches against Spanish clubs. The Nerazzurri achieved the first of their two European Cup successes by defeating Real Madrid CF 3-1 in the 1964 final in Vienna.

Team news
• Inter
Out: Esteban Cambiasso (knee), Marco Materazzi (thigh)
Doubtful: Dejan Stanković (flu)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

• Barcelona
Out: Bojan Krkić (thigh), Rafael Márquez
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Weekend results
13/09/09 Inter 2-0 Parma FC
(Eto'o 71, Milito 88)

12/09/09 Getafe CF 0-2 Barcelona
(Ibrahimović 66, Messi 80)

Did you know?
Mourinho served as an assistant to the late Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal at Barcelona from 1996-2000.

A tough start

Barça kick off the Champions League campaign with a tough match against Inter Milan in the Giuseppe Meazza.The return of Ibra to his former club and the re-encounter with Eto’o are two of the main talking points.

Barça begin the defence of their European crown on Wednesday in the stadium of one of the favourites to lift this season’s trophy, Inter Milan. The two sides are amongst the most in-form in Europe. Barça have won the last five competitions they’ve taken part in and started the domestic campaign with two wins out of two. Inter, meanwhile, are unbeaten in three games in the Serie A.

Old friends

There are plenty of individual re-encounters to add spice to the match. Zlatan Ibrahimovic goes back to the stadium where he conquered the last three Italian league titles, as does Maxwell, while Barça will face Samuel Eto’o for the first time since his move to Inter in the summer. Former Barça stars Thiago Motta and Ricardo Quaresma are also vital members of José Mourinho ’s squad (former Barça assistant coach).

Márquez returns

Pep Guardiola has named all 19 available players, including Chigrinskiy, who is ineligible having already taken part in the qualifying phase with Shakhtar Donetsk. Rafa Márquez returns to the squad after recovering from the injury he picked up on the tour of the USA and which has prevented him from playing so far this season. His return comes at opportune moment for Barça as the fixtures intensify. However, the injured Bojan and Milito are excluded.

Previous matches

Inter and Barça last met in Italy in the 2002/03 season in the second group stage of the Champions League. Barça strolled to a 3-0 win in the Camp Nou and then earned a valuable draw (0-0) in the Giuseppe Meazza. Many years earlier, in the 60s, both teams won a leg apiece of their Fairs Cup tie.

Inter Milan v Barça: Did you know?

There are plenty of interesting facts and figures that connect FC Barcelona and Inter Milan. Here are some of them:


► FC Barcelona have won the European Cup/Champions League three times: 1992 in Wembley; 2006 in Paris and 2009 in Roma.

► The last reigning champion to win the CL was Milan in 1990.

► Inter has won it twice: in 1964 and 1965.

► This is FC Barcelona’s ninth visit to Milan. In the previous eight trips, Barça won three, drew three and lost two against the two Milan based clubs.

► The last time Barça visited the city was in the CL semi-finals in the 2005/06 season. Barça secured a narrow 0-1 win thanks to a goal from Giuly in the 57th minute.

► The first meeting between the two sides in the CL was on 26th February 2003. The match ended 3-0 in Barça’s favour with goals from Saviola, Cocu and Kluivert, giving FC Barcelona a record breaking eleven straight wins in the competition.

► The return match ended in a goalless draw but though Barça went through to the quarterfinals as group winners, it was Inter that made it to the semi-finals. Zanetti (Inter), Puyol and Xavi are the only players in the current squads that took part in that match in the Giuseppe Meazza.

► José Mourinho was on the Barça coaching staff from 1996 to 2000 as assistant to Sir Bobby Robson and Louis Van Gaal. During those four years he rubbed shoulders with Pep Guardiola, then a Barça player.

► During his stint as Chelsea manager, Mourinho defeated FC Barcelona in the CL quarterfinals in 2004 only to see the tables turned in the same round the following year. In the 2006/07 season, Chelsea got the best of the two group stage matches, winning in London and drawing in the Camp Nou.

► Guardiola has won five trophies in just over a year whereas Mourinho has won fifteen in seven years.

► Guardiola is one of only six men to win Europe’s top club trophy both as a player and as a manager. The others are Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti and Frank Rijkaard.

► Fate has decided that Eto’o and Ibrahimovic will play against their former team-mates in the first match of this season’s CL.

► Eto’o spent five seasons with FC Barcelona, with some impressive statistics: 109 goals in 144 league matches and 18 goals in 43 CL matches. He also scored the opening goals in the 2006 and 2009 finals.

► In his last three seasons with Inter Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 57 goals in 88 league matches and 6 goals in 22 CL matches.

► Thierry Henry has won and lost against Inter. The French international lost in the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1996 when he played for Monaco but then scored twice in the Giuseppe Meazza for his old club Arsenal in 2003 in the CL.

► Xavi and Messi are also defending their awards as best midfielder and best forward and best player respectively in last season’s CL.

► Since the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Barça have not conceded a single goal in the following four matches. Victor Valdés has been unbeaten for a total of 436 minutes.

Back in a legendary stadium

Three and a half years after their last match in the San Siro district of Milan, Barça are back in the Giuseppe Meazza. On Tuesday evening the players trained in the stadium ahead of their CL duel against Inter.


Whether you know it as the Giuseppe Meazza or the San Siro, the ground where Barça will kick off their CL campaign is a majestic stadium. Even when it rains. The players found this out for themselves at the training session on Tuesday evening.

A fast pitch

The 19-strong squad were able to see for themselves that the pitch is pretty fast due to the rain that fell throughout the day. The session started at 7 pm and manager Pep Guardiola arrived a few minutes late as a result of his press conference.

At the beginning of the session, Guardiola spoke for some time about tactical matters with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Meanwhile, Carles Puyol –who was substituted in the second half of the match against Getafe- warmed up separately from the group but then re-joined the rest of the players and took a full part in training.

Guardiola: “It’ll be a tough test”

Josep Guardiola has no doubt whatsoever that Barça’s first match in this season’s CL against Inter Milan will be a “tough test” for his team.


Barça begin the defence of their CL title this Wednesday in the Giuseppe Meazza and Josep Guardiola is aware that his team will have to play well if they want to win: “It’ll be a tough test, a very difficult match. Inter have a lot of strength. They’re strong in all aspects. We’ll have to play a complete match”.

Attacking football

Guardiola, who pointed out that Barça did not have to face any Italian teams last season, confirmed that his players would stick to their trademark style. “We’ll try and do the same as always – get the ball and attack. We have to try and give people a good match in a marvellous stadium. We respect this style of football and we’re coming here to win and do what we know”.

“A great challenge”

Josep Guardiola emphasised that it was “a great challenge” for the players to take part in matches like the one on Wednesday in the Giuseppe Meazza: “It’s fantastic for us to be able play matches like these that guarantee a great spectacle”.

“We’re in the toughest group”

However, Josep Guardiola denied that FC Barcelona and Inter Milan are playing for first place in the group: “Absolutely not. We’re in the toughest group, with four champions of their respective leagues. It’s a group where there could be a lot of upsets”.

Mourinho

As for the rivalry with Inter manager José Mourinho, Guardiola told reporters. “For me it’s a pleasure, an honour, to be able to play a match against a team with a manager of the Mourinho’s prestige, who has won a lot in three different countries. I had the luck to coincide with him for a year. He’s an extraordinary person”.

Available players

Finally, Guardiola expressed his wish that his players avoid injury during the season: “This year I lost a number of players right from the beginning. We haven’t been able to count on Rafa so far, Andrés has a bit left, Zlatan is beginning to get into his stride…What I want above all else is to have them all available”.

Puyol: "They’re one of the best teams in Europe"

Although the Champions League is just beginning, and it’s much too soon to talk about who’s leading the group, Carles Puyol told reporters on Tuesday afternoon: “It’s important to start with a win”.


Inter v Barça is the most attractive game of the first CL matchday. Not only are they two of Europe’s greatest clubs, but there is also the prospect of Eto'o, now with Inter, and Ibrahimovic, Barça’s star summer signing, lining up against their old team-mates.

Club captain Carles Puyol is aware that these two players will attract much of the attention but warned that “we have to be careful” with the other players.

Respect for the opponents

Carles Puyol rejects any talk of an Inter – Barça duel for first place in the group: “It’s too early and you have to respect all out opponents. It’s important to start with a win but there are five more matches and we have to go a step at a time”.

The dangers of Inter

Carles Puyol has a great deal of respect for Inter: “They’re one of the best teams in Europe. They’re very strong physically and have some quality players”.

Facing Eto'o

Meanwhile, Carles Puyol is “excited” about meeting up again with Samuel Eto'o, with whom he shared five great years at Barça: “It’s a challenge. He’s one of the best players in the world and it’ll be a difficult job”.

However, Puyol doesn’t believe Eto’o will be especially motivated against his old club: “He gives 100% in every match, right up to the end”.

Inter v Barça: a gift for Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o will line up for Inter against Barça and is delighted to test his new club against the reigning champions: “Very few teams get to play against the best team in the world”.


Fate determined that Inter Milan would receive FC Barcelona in the Giuseppe Meazza for the opening match of the Champions League group stage. The fact that former Barça striker Samuel Eto’o is now with the Italian champions has added an extra dimension to the clash. Speaking in an interview with TV3, he describes Wednesday evening’s match as a “gift” and assures the fans. “Very few teams get to play against the best team in the world”.

A dream final

Samuel Eto’o is always ready for a challenge and would like to meet his former club in the final: “I didn’t want to face Barça at this point in the competition. My wish is that both teams reach the final. I want to play the final against Barça”.

Return to the Camp Nou

However, Eto’o has no complaints about the tie: “It’s a pleasure to play now against Barça and in a couple of months’ time return to the Camp Nou. In fact I wondered if I would ever get the chance to return here and now I know I’ll play again in the stadium that will always be my home”.

Barça and Mourinho meet again

Inter’s Portuguese coach José Mourinho has faced Barça six times before. All of them have been in charge of Chelsea and in the Champions League. Mourinho has won twice, lost twice and drawn the remaining two.


Frank Rijkaard was in charge of Barça for the six matches. The first time Mourinho faced his former club was in the R16 of the Champions League in the 2004/05 season. The first leg was played in the Camp Nou and ended 2-1 in Barça’s favour, with goals from Maxi López and Eto’o. Belletti scored an own goal.

The return leg at Stamford Bridge was the first of Mourinho’s two wins. Chelsea won 4-2 thanks to goals from Gudjohnsen, Lampard, Duff and Terry (Ronaldinho scored twice for Barça) and eliminated Barça from the competition.

Revenge

A year later the two teams met again in the R16. This time the return leg was held in the Camp Nou. Barça won in England 1-2 with goals from Terry (o.g.) and Eto’o but the match is also remembered for a crunching tackle by Del Horno on an unstoppable Messi, which earned the Spanish defender a red card.

The return leg was spectacular. Ronaldinho scored a trademark goal in the second half and in the dying seconds Lampard equalised from the penalty spot. This time Barça went through to the quarterfinals.

Months later in the group stage

Less than a year later, Barça and Chelsea were drawn in the same group together with Werder Bremen and Levski Sofia for the 2006/07 Champions League. Barça were reigning champions, having won the title against Arsenal in Paris. In the third matchday, Barça lost 1-0 in London, Chelsea’s goal coming from Didier Drogba. A fortnight later, the two sides drew 2-2 in the Camp Nou, with goals from Deco, Gudjohnsen (Barça) and Lampard and Drogba (Chelsea).

A slight advantage for Mou

The two sides are evenly matches, with two wins, two defeats and two draws for both Barça and Mourinho. However, the Portuguese coach has a slight lead given that Chelsea finished top of the group in the 2006/07 season while Barça were second.

Champions League 2009-10 starts

The Champions League starts in earnest on Tuesday evening with the first round of group matches as the race for the final in the Santiago Bernabéu next spring begins.


Some 32 teams are all vying to be crowned the champions of Europe on May 22 and it all starts this week with eight games on Tuesday and another eight on Wednesday.

Group A

The first games in the group see Juventus take on French champions Bordeaux, their first meeting in 24 years, while Maccabi Haifa tackle Bayern Munich.

Louis van Gaal will take the Bundesliga giants into a tough enconter against the Israeli outfit in the Kiryat Eliezer Stadium.

Juventus
Bordeaux

Maccabi Haifa
Bayern Munich



Group B

Manchester United start their campaign to reach a third consecutive final in Turkey as they travel to play Besiktas. The Red Devils do not have a great track record on Turkish soil having one just once in four attempts there.

German champions Wolfsburg are making their debut in the Champions League and they face a stern test against Russian side CSKA Moscow, who are now coached by former Barça B, Sevilla, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos.

Wolfsburg
CSKA Moscow

Besiktas
Man.United


Group C

AC Milan return to the Champions League on Tuesday after playing in the UEFA Cup last time out. The Rossoneri will meet Olympique Marseille in the Stade Velodrome in what promises to be an exciting encounter.

The other match in Group C pits FC Zurich against Real Madrid as the Swiss side make their debut in the competition as it currently stands, although they did appear in the original European Cup.

FC Zurich
Real Madrid

O.Marseille
AC Milan


Group D

Chelsea against Porto is one of the most attractive fixtures on the opening day with the Blues having Deco, Carvalho, Ferreira, Henrique Hilario and Jose Bosingwa all preparing to face their former club.

Atlético de Madrid meet Cypriot side APOEL in the other encounter with Los Colchoneros looking to put their season back on track after winning only one point from their first two league games.

Chelsea
Porto

Atlético de Madrid
APOEL Nicosia

First stop Milan

The football squad has arrived in Milan ahead of Wednesday evening’s Champions League match against Inter. The weather in Milan was very similar to Barcelona: cloudy and cool.


The players left Barcelona under grey skies and occasional drizzle and found the same weather when they arrived in Milan. The temperature was a cool 15ºC.

A short flight

The charter aircraft left Barcelona airport at 11.20 am and landed in Milan just over an hour later.

Laporta in charge

The Barça party of 19 players plus the coaching staff, is led by Club president Joan Laporta. Vice-presidents Jaume Ferrer and Rafael Yuste, who spoke before the plane left, and Board members Albert Perrín, Josep Anton Colomer, Maria Elena Fort, Jordi Torrent, Patrick Auset, Xavier Bagués and Magda Oranich, also travelled with the squad.

Director of football Txiki Begiristain was unable to travel due to lumbago.

New kit

The players are wearing a new style tracksuit for the first time on this trip. The sky-blue outfit replaces the previous yellow tracksuit.

On arrival, the players went straight to the Hotel Melià Milano, situated in the Via Masaccio. They will stay here until the training session later in the day.

Fixtures confirmed

The Spanish League has announced that Barça will play away to Racing Santander on Tuesday 22nd at 10 pm. On Saturday 26th, Barça will travel away to Malaga (8 pm).


The exact schedule of matchdays 4 and 5 has been officially confirmed. Barça’s match against Racing Santander in El Sardinero has been brought forward to 10 pm on Tuesday 22nd September.

A busy calendar

However, Barça will face two away matches on the spin. Matchday 5 will be away to Malaga in La Rosaleda at 8 pm on Saturday 26th.

This match has been brought forward to Saturday as Barça are playing Dynamo Kiev on the following Tuesday at 8.45 pm in the Camp Nou.

Bojan will recover in Barcelona

Bojan Krkic has returned to Barcelona to continue his recuperation and rehabilitation after undergoing a medical examination in Madrid that tested the slight muscle tear that he has in his left leg.


The striker’s return to action will be supervised by the FC Barcelona medical services who will keep in constant contact with the Spanish Football Federation to let them know how he is.

On August 31 Krkic suffered the knock against Sporting de Gijón.

Fontàs and Romeu

Two Barça players are still with the Spain Under-20 squad for the forthcoming World Cup. Andreu Fontás and Oriol Romeu are at the Las Rozas training complex and are preparing for the first game in the tournament against Egypt on September 25 in Tahiti.

436 minutes without conceding

Since Óscar de Marcos scored in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup against FC Barcelona the Catalan outfit have not conceded a goal and Víctor Valdés has now not been beaten for 436 minutes.


While Barça are renowned for their offensive play, at the back the team also excels as they have managed four consecutive clean sheets. As well as the minutes since De Marcos' goal in that first official game, Pep Guardiola's side have beaten Athletic 3-0 in the second leg, won 1-0 against Shakhtar in the European Super Cup and beaten Sporting 3-0 and Getafe 0-2 in the league.

14 saves by Valdés

With Barça defending as a unit, teh constant pressure of all ten outfield players on the opposition means that other teams do not have many chances in games.

Valdés has had to be sharp though as he has made 14 saves in those matches. Against Athletic in Camp Nou he only had one save to make, while against Sporting de Gijón the keeper was called upon on five occasions.

Defensive priority

In the five official games that Barça have played they have scored 11 times and conceded once. The defensive strength has been vital for the team with Guardiola stating: "The defensive line is the most important to me."

Barça and Inter have met before

FC Barcelona and Inter meet on Wednesday after being drawn together for only the second time ever in the Champions League. On the last occasion the Blaugrana were 3-0 winners in Camp Nou before the second game ended goalless in Giuseppe Meazza.


In total Barça and the Nerrazzurri have met three times in Europe with the first two meetings being in the Inter-City Fairs Cup while the most recent came in the 2002/03 campaign. The balance of the six matches is three wins for the Blaugrana, two draws and one defeat. Overall, Barça and Inter have won one tie each while the Catalan outfit overcame the Italians in group stage of hte Champions League.

Home victory

In the 2002/03 meetings, the teams were drawn together in the second phase of the groups. Radomir Antic led FC Barcelona to victory in Camp Nou as the hosts won 3-0 thanks to goals from Javier Saviola, Philip Cocu and Patrick Kluivert. That victory saw Barça make it eleven consecutive wins in the Champions League, a record that still stands in the competition.

Group progress

In the return leg, played on February 26, 2003, in Italy, there were no goals. It was a result that ended the run of victories and stood out for the tough battle that saw injuries to Cocu while Carles Puyol fractured his cheek after a collision with team-mate Frank de Boer. In that season Barça were knocked out by Juventus.

Out of the Fairs Cup

The previous meeting between the clubs came in the quarter finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969/70. On that occasion Inter proved to be too strong for Barça as the Italians won 1-2 in Camp Nou with Bonisegna, Fusté and Bertini all scoring in the game. FC Barcelona were knocked out of the event after drawing the second game 1-1 in Italy.

Comfortable wins

In 1958-60, the tournament being played over two years, was the first time that Barça and Inter met. In the first leg, the Blaugrana were dominant as they secured a 4-0 winning margin and took a step towards the semi finals. Five months later in the return game, Helenio Herrera's side were the best side yet again as they won 2-4 in Milan and the team went on to lift the trophy for the second time in their history.

Getting back to normal

With Barca’s international players due to gradually make their way back to the city this week, the squad focus their attention on Saturday’s trip to Getafe for the second game of the league season.


After a four day break from training, the squad is back under Josep Guardiola’s orders to prepare for Saturday’s game. There are still many internationals away with their national teams, but by the end of the week they should all be back in Barcelona.

Training at the Ciudad Deportiva

The squad will train this evening at 18.30 at the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper, whilst Wednesday’s session is set for 9.30 and Thursday again sees an evening session, this time at 18.30.

Trip to Madrid set for Saturday itself

As frequently happened last season, the squad will travel to Madrid on the day of the game itself, which kicks off at 18.00.

Piqué scores, Xavi, Puyol and Busquets all start

The four Barca players in Vicente Del Bosque’s Spanish squad, Piqué, Puyol, Busquets and Xavi, all started in Spain’s 5-0 hammering of Belgium and Pique was also one of the goalscorers.


Spain virtually booked their place in South Africa with the win in La Coruña and all the Barca players in the squad played their part in the convincing victory. As well as Pique, Villa and Silva both scored twice in the 5-0 win.

Ibrahimovic gets the points for Sweden

Sweden needed a win against Hungary to keep their hopes of making the World Cup finals alive, but when Hustzi equalised Mehlberg’s earlier goal for the visitors it looked as if they’d have to settle for a draw before Ibrahimovic, playing despite suffering knee problems all week, popped up in injury time to give the Swedes the points. Sweden are third in Group 1, just a point behind Hungary, with Denmark top and virtually guaranteed winning the group.

Henry goal earns France a point

France were held to a 1-1 draw in Paris against Rumania thanks to a Thierry Henry goal and it looks as if they will have to settle for second place in their group and a place in the play offs. France are 4 points behind leaders Serbia and 4 ahead of third placed Austria with three games left to play.

Touré on target for Ivory Coast

Touré Yaya was on the score sheet in Ivory Coast’s 5-0 win over Burkina Fassa, with Didier Drogba also grabbing a brace. The result puts Ivory Coast top of their group and looking good for South Africa.

Easy win for Ukraine

Barca’s latest signing Dmitry Chygrynsky played the full 90 minutes in Ukraine’s easy 5-0 win over Andorra. Ukraine lie third in Group 6, three points behind Croatia and seven adrift of leaders England.

Barça earn first point (1-1)

FC Barcelona Atlètic earned a point from their opening home match in the Miniestadi as they were held by Mallorca B. Jonathan Soriano gave the hosts a very early lead, but were pegged by a goal from Sergi midway through the second period.


In the second game of the season, the Blaugrana gave debuts to Marc Muniesa and Jonathan dos Santos but were still unable to claim victory.

Jonathan opens the scoring

It took Luis Enrique’s side just two minutes to score the first goal however as Soriano pounced on a mistake by Mallorca’s keeper Nauzet to slide in the opener. It was the former Espanyol forward’s first goal for Barça as he had not scored in pre-season and set up the team for what they felt would be a morale-boosting victory.

Balearic pressure

Marc Bartra then went close to doubling the advantage with a firm header while at the other end Mallorca did apply pressure when they were able to as they stepped forward when the home team had the ball.

Working hard

In the centre of Barça Atlètic’s midfield Dos Santos and Thiago Alcántara worked tirelessly as they covered several kilometers to try and help build attacks and that industry almost paid off when Rochina saw a cross-cum-shot almost drift in that the keeper would not have reached. Mallorca were building too and Sergi had a chance to level before the break.

Chances to win

Edu Oriol and Soriano combined in the second period to create a chance while Rochina and Muniesa both had headers that could have clinched the points for Barça, but they were unable to convert.

Mallorca level

Tiredness in the home team’s display then became a factor and Martí almost took advantage as he pushed up but the equalizer came just after the hour mark when Sergi met a pass from Martí and steered home.

Late opportunities

After seeing the visitors draw level, Barça almost lost the game as Mallorca hit the woodwork and then had two chances that Dos Santos, Miño and Espasandín combined to keep out. Next week Luis Enrique’s team will be looking for their first win when Benidorm visit.

Iniesta, a year in paradise

Andrés Iniesta has presented his book "A year in paradise, my treble diary". In his book, the Barça player looks back on some of the most special moments of a historic season.


Joined by friends and family, Andrés Iniesta has presented his book "A year in paradise, my treble diary" at a well attended event in the Roma lounge of the Camp Nou. The player appeared with his co-writers, journalists Dani Senabre and Sique Rodríguez and the editor Ernest Folch. President Joan Laporta also made a point of attending, as did Jacint Borràs, Albert Perrin, Joan Franquesa and Magda Oranich and first team manager, Josep Guardiola.

Memories of an unforgettable year

The book is written from a personal angle, and is divided into eight chapters, with pages drafted by the player himself and personal photos chosen especially by Iniesta. The 119 pages show Iniesta giving an inside view of a season that involved some great and not so great moments. "The game away to Chelsea was the best moment of my whole life. Making so many people so happy was incredible. Then came the three titles, the big win at the Bernabéu and the celebrations. The book also explains how there were difficult times, such as the injury I suffered at the end of the season. The 17 days between the injury and the game with Villarreal and the final in Rome were a nightmare. Luckily, I was able to play and the team won the title".

Ready to play

Though he was there to speak about his book, Iniesta also commented on his current fitness and how keen he is to get back to playing again. "I can sense it won’t be long before I get the medical all-clear and I can feel like a footballer again. I hope it’ll be for the next game. I’ve had a very bad summer, but luckily the leg’s fine now and I’m keen to play".

Faith in the youth

Iniesta was also asked whether he thought there was enough strength in depth in the current squad. "We’ll see at the end of the season whether the squad is too small or not. The youngsters have shown this preseason that they are of the level to fit into the first team and make it competitive enough. The club is working very hard with its youth system and the trainer has a lot of faith in young players".