football

Gerard Piqué, one of FC Barcelona’s most iconic players, will quit Spain’s national team in 2018. The defender stunned reporters after the Spain vs Albania match on Sunday by declaring that he was“tired”of some supporters criticism who “don’t want”him in the squad. The relationship between Spain’s national team and Pique has repeatedly ruffled feathers, not only due to Pique’s commitment to Barça and some jibes aimed at Real Madrid, but also for his clear support for Catalonia’s independence. Piqué’s decision to cut the sleeves from his shirt, which bore the Spanish colours of yellow and red, for the Spain vs Albania match outraged some Spanish fans who linked it to his lack of commitment to the national team. “The thing with the sleeves is the straw that has broken the camel's back”he said and lamented that he “tried everything”but couldn’t “take it anymore”. Pique has made 86 appearances for Spain and won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and Euro 2012. He was also part of Spain's disappointing campaigns at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.

Barça turned up at Balaídos needing no reminding of the threat that Celta’s speedy attack could pose, having suffered a 4-1 defeat last time they were in town, but few could have expected what took place in the first half this time around. Despite a good start, warning signs of Celta’s growing attacking threat began to appear as the half grew on. And when Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s pass out to Sergio Busquets was a touch wide of the midfield man, Iago Aspas was more than happy to step in and play Pione Sisto through on goal, who made no mistake with a neat finish. A spirited second half display saw FC Barcelona so nearly stage an epic comeback against Celta Vigo, but it turned out to be another unhappy visit to Balaídos in a seven-goal thriller. Three rapid first-half goals from the hosts caught Barça off guard and, while Luis Enrique’s men twice rallied back to reduce the deficit to a solitary goal, they ultimately left empty-handed.

Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to beat hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday. The victory is Barça’s second in as many games in the group stage. The Catalans continue to lead Group C, and have now scored nine goals and conceded just one in the two games combined. Despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi, Arda Turan and Gerard Piqué gave the Catalans their second win in two group matches to top the standings, after their opening 7-0 demolition of Celtic. The late heroics snapped Borussia's 11-game home winning streak and gave goalkeeper Mark-André ter Stegen — who was facing the club where he spent his entire life, from age four until he joined Barça in the summer of 2014 — a homecoming to remember.

Messi, Neymar and Suárez trio shone in their first match side by side in 115 days, helping FC Barcelona to their biggest ever Champions League win, a 7-0 victory over Celtic at the Camp Nou. It took just three minutes for Messi to get things going after he was played through by Neymar. It was a sign of things to come as the Argentine would go on to score his first hat-trick of the campaign, his sixth ever in the Champions League, a feat which makes him the player with the most hat-tricks in the history of the competition. “We practically didn’t commit any mistakes,” Luis Enrique beamed from the podium in the Ricard Maxenchs press room at Camp Nou following Barça’s opening round knockout. “The players had fun, and that allowed the Barça supporters to have fun,” he said.

The green and white hoops of Celtic have been a familiar sight at the Camp Nou in recent years, and the 47-times Scottish champions are back for the opening game of the Champions League 2016/17. The Celts are here for the third time in just five years and they’re up against a Catalan side that will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing home defeat to Alavés at the weekend. In Europe, remember, Barça are chasing a twelfth consecutive win at the Camp Nou. Speaking on Monday, Barça manager Luis Enrique said that “it’s useful to have faced Celtic in the preseason. They can be difficult to play against and did well to get through their qualifying rounds.” Messi, Suárez and Neymar will be outfield, same as Ter Stegen who has been included in the squad.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural, the Platform Pro Catalan Sports Selections and the group of jurists ‘Drets’ (‘Rights’) will distribute 30,000 Catalan pro-independence flags at the Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Celtic FC taking place this Tuesday at Camp Nou. The initiative comes after UEFA’s €30,000 fine of FC Barcelona for the displaying of these flags during the Champions League final in Berlin last year. According to the Union of European Football Associations, the fine was issued because it officially condemns in Article 16.2 of its Disciplinary Regulations "the use of gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly messages that are of a political, ideological, religious, offensive or provocative nature". 

FC Barcelona’s defense of their league title began with a 6-2 win over Real Betis on Saturday evening with a goal from Arda Turan, two for Leo Messi and a Luis Suárez hat-trick. It may be a new season, but it was the same free-flowing attacking football on display at the Camp Nou that the home faithful have come to expect, as Barça cruised to a comfortable win to open the league campaign. If there were any nerves ahead of kick-off, they quickly subsided when Jordi Alba brought down Messi’s cross, before picking out Arda, who then prodded home to make it 1-0 after just six minutes.

FC Barcelona have won the 51st edition of its own Joan Gamper Trophy with a 3-2 win over Italian guests Sampdoria on the night that the Camp Nou made its first contact with the 2016/17 squad, and especially with the five new signings. All of them were given time on pitch in front of a carnival atmosphere that was led by a sparkling performance from MVP Leo Messi, who scored the second and third goals after setting up the first in extraordinary fashion. The Gamper Trophy stayed in Barcelona for the fourth time in a row, and also provided Luis Enrique with the chance to see all of his players in match action ahead of the first competitive fixture of 2016/16, the Spanish Super Cup first leg in Seville on Sunday.

Welcome back to the Camp Nou! August 10 brings the traditional curtain-raiser to the new season as Barça host Sampdoria of Italy in the 51st edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy. This is the last of four friendlies for Barça before things get really serious with the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday. UC Sampdoria were Barça’s victims both in the 1989 European Cup Winner’s Cup Final (2-0) and the 1992 European Cup Final (1-0). Luis Enrique promised in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that absolutely everyone in the squad will be getting a run-out on Wednesday night, including all three goalkeepers, who’ll be getting thirty minutes each. According to the coach, “the Gamper Trophy is always special” and emphasised that this is “the best squad” he has had since joining Barça.

The Camp Nou was treated to a night of emotions and spectacle – capped when the football squad appeared one by one, in order of shirt numbers, to rapturous cheers from the adoring crowds. Luis Enrique and his staff were also honoured in a fitting tribute to all the hard work they do, and which so often goes unnoticed behind the scenes. Celebrations like this are becoming common place of late at the Camp Nou, and may things remain that way! With 28 titles won in the last decade, the legend just keeps growing. The night erupted in a sea of red and blue confetti and pyrotechnics and so the curtain came down on another triumphant season at FC Barcelona. After the summer, it all starts again!

The victory in the Vicente Calderón strengthens FC Barcelona's position as the most successful team of recent years as they claim the Copa del Rey for the second successive season. Jordi Alba’s goal in the seventh minute of extra time capped a stunning turnaround of events and handed FC Barcelona a well-deserved 2–0 victory over Sevilla in the 2016 Copa del Rey final on Sunday night at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid. With the La Liga championship already in the bag, Sunday’s Copa del Rey win — the 28th in Club history — means Barça have emerged on top in both of this season’s national competitions, giving them the coveted domestic double and ensuring the 2015/16 season will be hailed as a success for years to come.

Those supporters who carry pro-independence flags at the Copa del Rey final will be able to access the stadium. The judge of judiciary number 11 of Madrid accepted the appeal presented by lawyers' group 'Drets', which called for the “automatic suspension” of the Spanish government’s decision to ban the flags during the football match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC. Thus, according to the resolution, the cautionary measure requested by ‘Drets’ has been “partially estimated” and therefore “the execution of the appealed action is suspended”. The decision announced by the Spanish government’s Delegate in Madrid, Concepción Dancausa, triggered much criticism amongst civil society but also from most of the political parties. FC Barcelona also presented a lawsuit which is still being studied by another judge in Madrid

The Spanish government’s Delegate in Madrid, Concepción Dancausa, warned that those supporters who attend the Copa del Rey final between Barça and Sevilla carrying pro-independence flags won’t be able to access the stadium. According to Dancausa, 2,500 police agents will work to guarantee the security at Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid and will set in place two lines of security controlling access to the arena. Thus, they “will make sure” that nobody is carrying “dangerous items such as or bottles or materials of racist, xenophobic, political or religious propaganda which may lead to public confrontations”, she stated. At the last Champions League final on the 6th June, UEFA fined FC Barcelona for showing pro-independence flags during the match and earlier this year the club was sanctioned with a 30,000 euro fine for the same reason.

Barça earn 24th league success with win at Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes thanks to a hat-trick from Pichichi Luis Suárez, which confirmed the Uruguayan’s status as the division’s top marksman with 40 goals. All in all, it was a dominant campaign from Barça, who topped the table for all but eleven weeks of the season. “It was a deserved title which shows that the team knows how to bounce back from a bad spell,” Luis Enrique said, referring to a blip which saw his side fall to three defeats in April. Despite the wealth of talent that the squad possesses, Luis Enrique was keen to praise the team’s grit over the course of the campaign: “The hard work of the team throughout the season must be praised”. “It is the competition which shows the real state of a team” and that “the title is very hard to win”, he concluded.

In their final home game of the season on Sunday, FC Barcelona treated the fans to an enthralling afternoon. With the team inching ever closer to wrapping up the 2015/16 La Liga title and facing cross-town rivals RCDEspanyol in a late-season derby  certified as a must-win  for both sides, the blaugrana eleven gave the Camp Nou crowd an hour and a half of total football. The defence swarmed, the passing was crisp, and the trident was lethal. The only thing standing between FCB and a new piece of hardware is next Saturday's tête-à-tête with Granada, who avoided relegation on Sunday with a rout of their own in a 4–1 thumping of Sevilla.