Valdés equals Rexach with 449 matches for FC Barcelona

The Barça keeper is now the fourth player to play the most matches for Barça in the Club’s history behind Migueli, Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández

Andrés Iniesta played in his 397th match and Dani Alves has played 300 games in La Liga

Tonight against Athletic Club, Víctor Valdés played his 449th match for Barça which allows the keeper to draw level with Carles Rexach as the fourth player with the most games played for FC Barcelona. The keeper made his debut on September 1st 2002 under Louis van Gaal, in the match the pitted Barça against Atlético Madrid; the game ended in a two-all draw. The 20-year-old, at the time, alternated the starting position in the Barça’s XI with the Argentine Bonano. After nine years and seven months since his debut, Valdés is now level with Rexach, ‘The kid from Pedralbes,’ who played as a center striker for Barça from 1965 through 1981.

Fourth after Migueli 

Valdés is the fourth player with the most games for FC Barcelona in the history of the Club. He’s also the keeper that’s defended the Barça goal the most in the Club’s 113-year history. Barça’s third captain falls behind Migueli (449), Puyol (550), and Xavi Hernández, who has 617 games for FC Barcelona.

The competition that Valdés has played the most in is La Liga, with 324 match, followed by the Champions League, with 90. These two tournaments have monopolized the matches played by the player. In the Cup, he’s only played 12 matches, 5 in the UEFA Cup, 8 in the Spanish Super Cup, 3 in the European Super Cup and 6 in the Club World Cup.

18 titles to his name 

Valdés’ first title came in the 2004/05 season. Since then, the keeper has won four Ligas, three Champions Leagues, one King’s Cup, two European Super Cups, five Spanish Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Four Zamora awards 

The keeper has also won four Zamora Trophies. This award is given to the keeper that conceded the least amount of goals throughout a La Liga season. He’s only one away from the legendary Ramallets, who has five.

Valdés won last year’s Zamora title with a coefficient of 0.5 goals per game - Liaño is the only keeper to have a better rate in goal, in 1994 the keeper only allowed 0.47 goals per game. Valdés is level with Cañizares and Juan Acuña.

Iniesta: "We'll have our chance in La Liga"

The Barça midfielder, who scored the opener against Athletic, highlighted the competitive spirit of Bielsa’s team and Barça’s ability to combat the Basque’s play

After the victory in La Liga, the Barça team is focusing on the return match of the Champions League quarterfinal against AC Milan

Three more points in La Liga were secured ahead of the decisive Champions League quarterfinal match against AC Milan this Tuesday. Barça restored the six-point gap with Real Madrid after the Catalans beat Athletic Club 2-0. The players highlighted the importance of tonight’s victory as the team is now on an eight-match winning streak in La Liga.

Andrés Iniesta, who said it was difficult to beat the Basque team at the Camp Nou, said, “the game was very demanding, I think the team played a very good match. Athletic forced all of our players, from the keeper to the last player, to play well. We played a fantastic match.”

The midfielder praised Barça’s rival: “they didn’t create a lot of goalscoring chances, but they demanded a lot of us. We have to give value to this victory, because if you lower the intensity at any moment against Athletic, they roll right over you.”

A goal celebrated with euphoria...

Iniesta also explained why he celebrated his goal with so much enthusiasm: “scoring goals is always a joy, that’s why I celebrated with so much intensity. It just came out that way, I always want to help and play well.

“The goal was after a fast play, we were able to catch them while they weren’t paying attention,” said Iniesta. Barça, who hope to catch Real Madrid at the top of the table, remain alive in La Liga after a “beautiful match.” Iniesta added, “we needed to win the three points today, that’s what’s really important. If we keep on winning all three points each week we’ll have a chance to win the title at the end of the season.”

... now it’s time to focus on the Champions League

Iniesta talked about the return leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against AC Milan. “We have to win, that’s the reality. At home, with our fans, we have to get to the next round and we must go into the match with confidence. We’ll see 90 thrilling minutes,” said the midfielder.

Here are the statements made by Barça players after the match against Athletic:

Thiago Alcántara:

“We have to congratulate Athletic Club for their fantastic match. Furthermore, they are having a great season, they are a very young team and what they are achieving is meritorious. It’s not a coincidence that they are doing so well.

“Passing the ball and maintaining ball possession won us the match. It was important to keep a high pace throughout the match.”

On the King’s Cup Final: “there is still a lot left, when we meet again we’ll be two very different teams. We’ll see pure football, we’re two sides that like to play the ball.”

On the tie against Milan: “this match will also be decided by ball possession.”

On the team’s situation in La Liga: “we hope to cut into their lead. We believe we can make a comeback. Everything is possible and we can fight, however, we aren’t dependent on ourselves.”


Cristian Tello:

“Athletic played a very intense match. They were all over us, but it’s important that we won.

“The penalty is a satisfaction for me and for the team. We’re doing well and we have a good tone in our matches.”

Sergio Busquets:

“Milan will look to hit us on the counterattack. A tough match awaits us.

“There’s still a lot of Liga left, we’ll keep on trying until the end.”

Gerard Piqué:

“What a fantastic match! Congratulations to Athletic for the fantastic team they have and for the football that they play. It’s spectacular.”

Iniesta: "We'll have our chance in La Liga"

The Barça midfielder, who scored the opener against Athletic, highlighted the competitive spirit of Bielsa’s team and Barça’s ability to combat the Basque’s play

After the victory in La Liga, the Barça team is focusing on the return match of the Champions League quarterfinal against AC Milan

Tonight against Athletic Club, Víctor Valdés played his 449th match for Barça which allows the keeper to draw level with Carles Rexach as the fourth player with the most games played for FC Barcelona. The keeper made his debut on September 1st 2002 under Louis van Gaal, in the match the pitted Barça against Atlético Madrid; the game ended in a two-all draw. The 20-year-old, at the time, alternated the starting position in the Barça’s XI with the Argentine Bonano. After nine years and seven months since his debut, Valdés is now level with Rexach, ‘The kid from Pedralbes,’ who played as a center striker for Barça from 1965 through 1981.


Fourth after Migueli 

Valdés is the fourth player with the most games for FC Barcelona in the history of the Club. He’s also the keeper that’s defended the Barça goal the most in the Club’s 113-year history. Barça’s third captain falls behind Migueli (449), Puyol (550), and Xavi Hernández, who has 617 games for FC Barcelona.

The competition that Valdés has played the most in is La Liga, with 324 match, followed by the Champions League, with 90. These two tournaments have monopolized the matches played by the player. In the Cup, he’s only played 12 matches, 5 in the UEFA Cup, 8 in the Spanish Super Cup, 3 in the European Super Cup and 6 in the Club World Cup.

18 titles to his name 

Valdés’ first title came in the 2004/05 season. Since then, the keeper has won four Ligas, three Champions Leagues, one King’s Cup, two European Super Cups, five Spanish Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Four Zamora awards 

The keeper has also won four Zamora Trophies. This award is given to the keeper that conceded the least amount of goals throughout a La Liga season. He’s only one away from the legendary Ramallets, who has five.

Valdés won last year’s Zamora title with a coefficient of 0.5 goals per game - Liaño is the only keeper to have a better rate in goal, in 1994 the keeper only allowed 0.47 goals per game. Valdés is level with Cañizares and Juan Acuña.

Barça - Atheltic Club (2-0)

Tribute to Leo Messi

FC Barcelona paid tribute to Leo Messi with a giant banner in the Camp Nou before the match against Athletic Club

Before the match, the Camp Nou showed the best goals from the best strikers in the history of the Club on the stadium’s giant video screens
The Club is promoting the hashtags #etsunic and #sosgrande on Twitter to congratulate the footballer

Lionel Messi received a tribute from FC Barcelona for beating César Rodríguez’ all-time historic top goal scoring record of 232 goals. Messi broke the legendary mark with a hat-trick against Granada, which took his tally to 234 goals in official matches.

The Club organized the tribute for the Argentine to coincide with tonight’s match against Athletic Club. First, an event was scheduled for the family of César to hand over the honour to Messi’s family. The symbolic transfer of the historical record was made with a Barça jersey and President Sandro Rosell gave signed boots from both the goal scorers to the families of both footballers.

Emma Revillo, widow of the Five Cup striker, and Julia Ischerland, granddaughter of the player, met with Rodrigo Messi, brother of the Argentine. They were all photographed in the presidential box at the Camp Nou. Vice president of the Athletic Area, Josep Bartomeu, director of football, Andoni Zubizarreta, and president of the Barça Players Association, Ramon Alfonseda Pous were present.

Before tonight’s match, the stadium’s big screens showed an overview of the best goals from some of the Club’s best strikers.

A giant banner for an out-of-this-world player

After the meeting, the big surprise of the night was revealed, a banner that was 47 meters long by 46 wide, a total of 2,162 square meters unfurled along the far side of the stadium. In fact, this was the biggest banner to ever grace the Camp Nou in the history of the Club. The banner had two slogans: “Leo, ets únic! ¡Sos grande!” [“Leo, you’re unique! You’re the biggest!]

The Club is also promoting these two slogans on Twitter, asking followers to congratulate the Argentine with the following hastags: #etsunic #sosgrande

FCB-Athletic Club: Top quality victory (2-0)

Barça have beaten Athletic Bilbao in an intense, lively game in which both sides played some exquisite football

But the home side enjoyed most of the possession and also the chances, and eventually won through thanks to goals from Iniesta and Messi (penalty)

Barça v Athletic Bilbao was as good a game as people had expected, with both teams showing why they are getting so much praise of late. These are two sides that like to keep possession of the ball, and in that respect it was Barça that came out tops – something which clearly unsettled their Basque visitors. The home side had all the chances in the first half, and also the only goal, an absolute beauty from Iniesta. Both sides were clearly treating the game with the utmost intensity, and we were also treated to a fascinating tactical battle between two of the most respected coaches in the competition. Messi, on an evening on which he received a special tribute for becoming the highest goalscorer in FCB history, settled the result in the second half from the penalty spot. It was a hard-fought victory for the Catalans, and the three points serve to keep their league title hopes very much alive.

Catalan initiative

Both sides had clearly made modifications to their starting elevens with European commitments in mind, but Barça were firing on all cylinders regardless. The Athletic players were clearly stunned by such an ambitious opening. After just five minutes Piqué had a shot turned wide and two minutes later Thiago had a goal disallowed for offside. Bilbao’s plan to use the wings just didn’t seem to be working for them, and neither could they find a way to work the ball forwards out of defence. Try as they could to take the initiative, they were clearly struggling to hold onto possession for any sizeable period of time. The game was Barça’s for the taking.

Iniesta strikes

Just when the pace seemed to be slowing, the 88,207 strong crowd started chanting the name of “Abidal! Abidal!” in honour of the minute that coincided with the Frenchman’s shirt number. That seemed to be the inspiration the Barcelona players needed. Messi almost surprised Bilbao keeper Gorka with a quickly taken free kick from far out, and from the ensuing corner, Aurtenetxe cleared a Piqué effort off the goal line. It was all Barça, but although they couldn’t get the ball, the visitors were exceptionally disciplined at the back. Messi was subjected to some especially tight marking, and as a result, Barça were failing to find their usual magic over the last few metres.

But the Basque wall was finally broken down in the 40th minute. Alexis won the ball in midfield and threaded it forwards to Messi. The Argentinian supplied a quick assist to Iniesta, who came in from behind to slam the ball home with verve. 1-0. And Barça had chances to extend that lead before the break, with Gorka twice being called upon to deal with angled shots from Messi and Adriano. A delightful 45 minutes of football ended with the Catalans ahead by a solitary goal.

Messi makes no mistake

Marcelo Bielsa sought to change the pattern in the second half by sending on two of his prize assets, Ander and Muniain, while striker Llorente would be the third substitute. That helped Athletic to start creating more danger but Barça managed to contain everything that was thrown their way, with Piqué and Mascherano being particularly effective in limiting the potential damage. Meanwhile, Tello was impressing in up front. It was he who tested Gorka to the limit with a brilliantly swerved shot, and it was also he who was brought down for a penalty that was coolly converted by Leo Messi in the 57th minute.

Holding on

Barça held onto their lead the way they know best – by keeping the ball away from their opponents. And also by not letting off in attack. In the 67th minute, Gorka came to his team’s rescue yet again, this time to save an exquisite effort from Iniesta, who was replaced shortly after by Xavi. Keita also came on as Guardiola sought to make sure Bilbao didn’t spring any nasty late surprises. Something they almost did through Muniain, but Piqué was there just in time. That was the start of a late flurry from the visitors, but it was ultimately in vain, and Barça very nearly made it three when Keita’s shot hit the crossbar. The three points mean that the Catalans stay within six points of the league leaders, and were also a massive confidence boost ahead of the crunch game with Milan on Tuesday night.

The Azulgrana Roundup, Week 10

On this week's roundup: The Catalan daily Sport discusses Guardiola's Barça with the legendary Arrigo Sacchi, Michael Robinson and John Carlin ponder the roots of the Guardiola era, TIME names one of FC Barcelona's players as a contender for Person of the Year.

• TIME. The 2012 TIME 100 Poll: Lionel Messi

"Will there be any end to Messi's record-breaking? On March 20, with the 18th hat trick of his career — a record — Messi passed César Rodríguez as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. This came just two weeks after Messi became the first player in history to score five goals in a Champions League match. Look out, Pelé: Messi may be the new greatest footballer of all time."

• Sport. Martí Perarnau. Gente seria y fiable [Serious and reliable people, interview with Arrigo Sacchi]

Casi sin respirar, Sacchi nos dijo ayer: “En 2008, el Barça tomó la fenomenal decisión de colocar al equipo por delante de los individuos, honrando que el fútbol es un deporte de equipo."

• El País. Michael Robinson / John Carlin. Barça, ¿evolución o revolución? [Barça, evolution or revolution?]

"Lo que sí podemos decir, en cambio, es que el actual Barcelona representa un hito en la evolución del fútbol. Existe un antes y un después con este equipo. Ha redefinido el juego, ha hecho que la totalidad del mundo del fútbol –desde los entrenadores de niños pequeños hasta los cuerpos técnicos de los clubes más grandes del mundo– vuelva a la pizarra y reconsidere sus premisas más elementales."

• El Centrocampista. Scott Oliver. When the nastiest rivalry in Spain was between Barcelona and Athletic

"By then supremely confident and driven, refusing to be cowed by either of the metropolitan behemoths, in 1983-84 Athletic had pipped Real on the head-to-head rule and Barça by a single point, despite the blaugranas’ somewhat pyrrhic league double over the Basques - and it was during the course of that season that the incremental morbo between Barcelona and Bilbao finally, and spectacularly, ignited."

• Buenos Aires Herald. London tube names stations after Olympics’ legends

"Several well-known Argentine football players will have the honour of lending their names to the London Underground to pay homage to the sports icons during the Olympic games to be held between July 27 to August 12"

Can you guess which one(s)?

Marca. Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives his shirt to Éric Abidal after this Wednesday’s Champions League clash with FC Barcelona via Keita

• Zonal Marking. Milan 0-0 Barcelona: Lots of little battles

"A brief summary of the tactical battle? Milan often did well to crowd out Barca’s attacks, but Barca should have stretched them more. There wasn’t a key battle, nor an overall tactical theme – but instead plenty of small areas of interest."

• Los Angeles Times. Kevin Baxter. Lionel Messi still making a name for himself

"What sticks out most about Messi, though, isn't so much how often he scores but rather how he scores. Many of his goals are works of art — a soft touch here, a long blast there. Left boot, right boot, it doesn't matter; Messi with the ball at his feet is like Picasso with a brush in his hand or Toni Morrison with a pen and paper."

• Goal.com. Mark Doyle. Guardiola: I try to learn from Bielsa

"I have so much admiration for Bielsa and I try to learn from him. Athletic have been the sensation of Europe this season. They deserve the admiration of all.”

Spotlight on Athletic Club Bilbao

“The Lions” are one of the most successful teams in Spain and their unique policy of playing only Basque players, together with the fact they are owned by their members, gives them a special place in the Basque social fabric

History

Athletic Club are, together with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, one of just
three teams who have never dropped out of the Spanish first division since it was founded in 1928. During that time they have won the league title eight times and on five of those occasions they won a league and Cup double, indeed only FC Barcelona have won more Spanish Cup titles. Athletic Club Bilbao was founded in 1898 by a collection of expat English shipyard and steel workers together with young Basques who had travelled to Britain and 31 years later they became the first team to win a La Liga title without a single defeat during the season. In all, they won four titles in the pre-civil war era, although they also managed one in the 40s and 50s (when the team featured the legendary Telmo Zarra up front) it wasn’t until the early 80s that they managed another, taking the ‘81 and ‘82 titles under Javier Clemente.


Basque Identity

Athletic Club are closely associated with the cause of Basque nationalism,
with their policy of only playing Basque, or Basque connected players. The
team’s second kit has the Basque flag colours and the first ever public display of an Ikurrinea after the death of Franco was at a game against Real Sociedad in December 1975, when the two captains ceremoniously placed a giant Basque flag in the centre of the pitch.

Form Guide

This has been a great season for Athletic, with Marcelo Bielsa introducing a
level of skill and passing, which has sometimes been lacking from the Basques traditional blood and thunder approach. They seem to have saved their best form for the Europa Cup, with two great games against Manchester United and this week’s win over Schalke, which looks to have virtually assured a semi final slot,but their league form has suffered something of a dip, with three defeats and a home draw against Sporting Gijon in their last four games. That run has seen them drop from being Champions League contenders to their current more modest 11th spot in the table. Athletic are also, of course, due to play FC Barcelona in this year’s Spanish Cup final.

The Barcelona connection

The Cup Final will just be the latest time the fates of the two historic teams
have been entwined. Right back in 1930, the Basques inflicted what is still the Catalans heaviest ever defeat with a 12-1 thrashing, whilst in 2009, Guardiola’s team took the Cup title as part of their historic treble-winning season beating Bilbao 4-1 in the final. The rivalry of the 80s and Goikoetxea’s infamous fouls on Maradona and Schuster is water under the bridge now and there was a fantastic friendly atmosphere between the two sets of fans in Mestalla, which is sure to be repeated at this year’s Vicente Calderón Cup final - and indeed at the Camp Nou on Saturday.


Ones to watch

Bilbao’s sparkling young team is full of stars, with Fernando Llorente the main man up front, ably supported by Munuain, Susaeta and De Marcos, whilst many of Europe’s top teams are eyeing up the versatile Javi Martínez, who has shown he can be equally effective at the back or in midfield.

First up, Athletic Club Bilbao

22.00 Canal + and R@dio Barça: Barça must forget about their match against Milan, to refocus on the League, and the important game against Bielsa’s team, if they want to continue to aspire to the title

Barca, with the only doubt about the still injured Adriano, are seeking to go eleven consecutive games without defeat

Three days after the tough match at the San Siro, FC Barcelona will receive Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou (22.00 Canal + and R@dio Barça) with the objective of maintaining the form of recent weeks that has allowed Guardiola’s side to close the gap with Real Madrid  from 10 points to 6. With the return of the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Milan in the background, the players should focus exclusively on the crucial game against the Basques if they want to continue their League title aspirations.

Thinking about Milan is banned

Barça will take the field knowing the Real Madrid result, who are playing at 20.00 away at Osasuna in the always difficult Reyno de Navarra. But as Valdés said earlier this week "looking at Madrid’s schedule is useless if we don’t win". So, they need to win again if they want to have options of winning the League title. Barça’s other open front is Milan and Tuesday's game at the Camp Nou, which will decide who goes through to the semifinals. Although it is difficult not to think about it, Pep Guardiola, in the press conference before the match, said that he was confident the team will not fall into the temptation of having their heads stuck in the Champions League. "If we had focussed more on other games than the next one we wouldn’t have won 13 titles out of 16".

The European Football week leaves it’s mark on the match

Both teams come into this League classic fixture after games in Europe this week in which Barça drew with Milan, on Wednesday, in the Champions League, and Athletic Club Bilbao beat Schalke away, on Thursday, in their Europa League match. Despite the circumstances and the little time to prepare for the match, a spectacle is assured at the Camp Nou and the first to be aware of that is Guardiola who predicted "an open game right until the end".

The Catalan side, with the still injured Adriano doubtful, seek to get through their eleventh straight game without defeat. And they will do it against an Athletic team, which, since Bielsa arrived, have been one of the season’s revelations. Strong in Europe, where they have within their reach qualification for the semifinals of the Europa League, they’re not doing so well in the League where they’ve only picked up 1 of the last 12 possible points.