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Flowers of varying species, size and colour have been chosen based on their ability endure the climate of the city.

Barça player Gerard Piqué got injured in training and will be out for three weeks. Piqué tore fibres in his left calf muscle and will not play the European Super Cup match in Monaco against Porto next Friday evening.

Plans to change the location of Barcelona zoo have been put on hold indefinitely. The zoo, which has been housed in Park of the Ciutadella since 1892, is now turning its attention to modernisation, aiming to become a "leader in the defence and conservation of biodiversity". Popular with tourists and locals alike, visitors increased by 13% from January to July this year. Coinciding with the zoo’s new plans, two spotted hyenas have arrived, the first in the last 25 years.

Barça has won its official trophy, the Joan Gamper, thanks to an emphatic win over Napoli. The home side performed brilliantly, and showed how extensive the squad is. Cesc, Keita, Pedro and Messi (2) scored the goals.

The FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell addressed the audience at the 32nd Supporters Clubs Congress. He looked back on the 2010/11 season and spoke positively about all of the sporting activities at the club. He explained why FC Barcelona did not file a formal complaint against Mourinho and he asked for a cooling down for everybody’s sake.

Barça and Napoli meet tonight (20.30 local time) in the 46th edition of FC Barcelona’s official trophy, the Joan Gamper, in honour of the club's founder. Both teams could meet again this season in the Champions League.

The new Barça midfielder stresses that Xavi still has lots of years left, and that he can see himself "playing and winning with Xavi……my best years are starting now", and Guardiola "will get the best out of me".

The neighbourhood of Gràcia launches into its week long festival, with its famous decorations occupying streets and squares throughout the area. The CNA talked to residents of Carrer de Progrés about their 'Intergalactic' themed street.

FC Barcelona were proclaimed Champion of the Spanish Super Cup after beating Real Madrid 3-2 at the Camp Nou, and 5-4 overall over the 2 legs. Iniesta and Messi (2), with a goal right at the death, were the home team scorers.

This season, FC Barcelona’s first team will have eleven players that came up through the club’s youth system. Fifty per cent of the 2011/2012 team is from La Masia.

The new mooring station to load and offload oil and other bulk liquids is designed for large ships. It will be the deepest of all the Western Mediterranean, including Northern Africa. 275-metre-long ships, weighting up to 175,000 tons and with a 15-metre-deep draft will be able to dock in Barcelona. Barcelona harbour aims at consolidating its leadership among all Mediterranean harbours regarding goods transportation, bulk and by container.

The new Barça number 4 said in his presentation that the club "has made my dream possible" and stressed that he’s fully prepared to "take on whatever role I’m given”.

Barça and Real Madrid have drawn 2-2 in the first leg of the Spanish Supercup. The visitors responded to Ozil’s opener with goals from Villa and Messi. After the break, Xabi Alonso converted Madrid’s equaliser.

Despite having the whole squad around for only the past two days, FC Barcelona coach, Josep Guardiola doesn’t want any excuses ahead of the Spanish Super Cup which starts this Sunday at Real Madrid’s stadium. "This is a final and whoever wins will be the best team" he said.

Speaking at a press conference Javier Mascherano insisted that the result of the Spanish Super Cup would not set the standard for the rest of the season, whilst accepting the importance of the clash