barcelona

The Spanish Government has finally finished the construction work and circulation tests on the last 131-kilometre stretch of railroad to France. Barcelona, Girona and Figueres are now linked by High Speed Train, although a direct connection between the Catalan capital and France will have to wait until next April. Now, passengers can travel from Barcelona to Girona in only 37 minutes and to Figueres in a total of 53 minutes. If they want to continue to France, they will have to switch trains until April, when the Spanish trains will be standardised to be able to run in France. However, from now on, the Spanish and the French High Speed railway networks will finally be connected, twenty years after the Madrid-Seville line was unveiled. The Catalan President has emphasised that Catalonia is the Autonomous Community with the smallest amount of public infrastructures in Spain.

Taxi drivers have protested against the new car shifts implemented as of last week. The new shift system affects all Barcelona taxis and it has been designed to reduce the number of cars on the streets in order to increase drivers’ profits by reducing the available taxis at a given time. However, some taxi drivers think the new shifts cause their turnover to drop. For this reason they have decided to protest by not serving Barcelona El Prat Airport or Barcelona Sants Station with cabs on Monday afternoon. The Metropolitan Taxi Institute, in charge of managing the sector, has already announced “talks” with taxi union representatives to “evaluate” the new system.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) has named FC Barcelona’s player Leo Messi the top goalscorer of 2012 in the 60 top leagues in the world. The 50 goals he scored in 37 matches represent an average 1.37 goals per game. These incredible figures mean Messi tops Cristiano Ronaldo, who got an average of 1.21 goals a game.

Leo Messi’s scoring record was one of the talking points of FC Barcelona’s win at Valladolid. But the Catalan team has also set records for the most wins and goals in a calendar year. With two games yet to play before the Spanish League’s halfway stage, Barça have already secured the honorary ‘Winter Champions’ title for the nineteenth time.

Barça finish the year on a high with goals from Xavi, Messi and Tello. With 49 out of a possible 51 points - 16 wins and 1 draw in their first 17 games- FC Barcelona close 2012 as undisputed leaders of the Spanish League. The players wore t-shirts with messages of support for their manager Tito Vilanova, who has been discharged from hospital after going through surgery on Thursday. Besides, Messi expands his own legend and he ends 2012 with 91 goals scored over a natural year.

Vinicio Capossela, Johny Winter, La Casa Azul, Quique González and Ron Sexsmith are some of the artists that are playing in the festival. The Catalan-speaking indie pop band Antònia Font will kick off the 24th edition of the Guitar Festival BCN on the 20th of February.

Nissan is considering allocating the production of a new sedan car to its Catalan plant: a €130 million investment creating 1,000 direct and 3,000 indirect new jobs. However, the company is asking for salaries and working conditions to be adjusted in order to increase competitiveness. Barcelona hosts one of the main factories the Japanese automotive company has in Europe and in May it allocated the construction of a new pickup model, after a previous modification to the working conditions. The talks for the new adjustment have been ongoing since the summer but now they are at a crucial moment, since Nissan is about to make its final decision. The company has just made a counter-offer based on a minor and more progressive salary drop. In addition, it warns unions that without the new model, the company will have to lay off 600 workers as from next year.

Barça will face the same team they met in the last season’s quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. Winners of seven European Cups, the Italian giants are currently immersed in a generational changeover and not challenging for the Serie A title. Historic figures such as Seedorf, Gattuso, Nesta and Inzaghi all left this summer, and Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic were sold to PSG. El Shaarawy is the main threat and Bojan the most familiar face for Barça fans.

FC Barcelona’s Medical Services announce that Barça Manager, Tito Vilanova, has a suffered parotid ailment relapse. Vilanova will undergo surgery on Thursday. Later on he will receive chemotherapy and radiation treatment for approximately six weeks. The treatment may be compatible with Vilanova’s work life.

The defender and midfielder have renewed until 2016, while the Argentinean will stay until 2018. Over the next few weeks, all of Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernández and Leo Messi will be signing their respective new contracts.

Goals from Adriano, Busquets and Messi (2) turned around an opener from Falcao to leave Spanish League’s second place Atletico Madrid nine points adrift. Futhermore, after Real Madrid’s draw with Espanyol, the Catalans are 13 points ahead. Besides, Messi continues paving his legend and grads his 90th goal in 2012.

The Argentinean and the Colombian, who face each other at the Camp Nou on Sunday at the FC Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid game, are unquestionably the top two strikers in the Spanish League. The two lead the goalscoring table in La Liga with 23 and 16 after just 15 games – figures that reveal how important their goals have been for their two teams this campaign.

Cristian Tello has extended his contract with FC Barcelona until June 2016. The release clause has been fixed at €10 million. Tello, born in Greater Barcelona, is a product of the Catalan club’s school and youth system. He debuted with Barça’s first team in November 2011 and from 2002 and 2007 he played in the club’s youth ranks.

In Cordoba, yet another brace from Messi has put the Spanish Cup quarter finals well within reach for FC Barcelona. It was a wonderful all-round performance for Barça at the Nuevo Arcángel in the Copa del Rey round of 16. Barça they will still have to make sure of qualification when the sides meet again at the Camp Nou on January 10.

Barcelona’s trade fair complex will end 2012 with a €116 million turnover, an improvement compared to 2011 and even more so compared to 2010. With international leading shows such as the Mobile World Congress, Alimentaria and the Smart City Expo, Fira de Barcelona competes at an international level with the world’s main trade fairs. In a press release, Fira de Barcelona reaffirms its “leadership in Spain in the area of industrial trade shows”.