amsterdam

FC Barcelona learned on Thursday evening that their 2014/15 Champions League bid will commence in Group F, which they’ll share with Paris Saint Germain, Ajax Amsterdam and Apoel Nicosia, the respective league champions of France, Holland and Cyprus. The winners of the last two editions of French Ligue 1 last faced FC Barcelona in the Champions League quarter finals two years ago. Barça and Ajax had never met each other in a competitive match until they were paired together in the group stages of last season’s Champions League. Finally, this will be the first ever meeting between Barça and the most successful side in Cypriot football history, APOEL, who famously made it all the way to the Champions League quarter finals two years ago.

Barça lose 2-1 to Ajax after an unbeaten run of twenty-eight matches. It was Ajax who inflicted the first defeat on Gerardo Martino since he has been on the Barça bench. The Dutchmen went 2-0 up in the first half, but a red card for Veltman and a converted penalty for Xavi could have changed the match at the start of the second. But despite pressing hard for an equaliser, luck was not on FC Barcelona’s side on Tuesday evening at the Amsterdam Arena and it all ended 2-1. The Catalans will need at least a point against Celtic to ensure they top the group.

A draw in FC Barcelona’s first ever official visit to the Amsterdam Arena (20.45 CET) would be enough to secure the first place in the Champions League Group H. With qualification already secured, the Catalans need at least a draw to guarantee being seeded and playing the second leg at home in the first round of the knockout stages. Barça are missing several players, even though Xavi returns, with youngsters Adama, Dongou, Sergi Gómez and Patric all travelling to Holland. Ajax faces an essential game, as it needs to win in order to keep its options for making it into the last sixteen open.

A Messi hat trick plus a Piqué header from Neymar’s corner kick handed FC Barcelona the three points in their UEFA Champions League debut. Valdés also produced a superb performance: he made two vital saves when Barça were leading 1-0 and stopped a penalty in the later stages. Ajax started in great style but were overwhelmed as Barça grew in strength throughout the match, led by the goals of Leo Messi and the saves of Victor Valdés. The result puts Barça at the top of their Champions League group, tied on points with AC Milan, who beat Celtic 2-0 in San Siro.  The next match will be in Scotland, where Barça lost 2-1 a year ago.

IAG, the company resulting from the merger of British Airways and Iberia, improved its initial offer from €7 per share to €9.25 to buy 100% of the Catalan airline’s shares. Iberia already owned 45.85% of Vueling and the IAG offer aimed to buy the remaining 54.15%. However, IAG had already stated the operation would still be carried out if it could buy 4.16% of Vueling’s share, in order to own 50.01% of the airline. Finally, more than four fifths of the remaining shareholders decided to sell their stocks to IAG. The international airline will buy 44.66% of Vueling’s shares and then it will own 90.51% of the company based in Barcelona El Prat Airport. Vueling is one of the few European airlines that has made a profit in the last few years. It has a competitive business model, flying to more than 200 destinations.

The Catalan forward will play for the Dutch team until the end of the current season. Ajax does not have the option to buy the player once the loan period expires. Formed in FC Barcelona’s youth system, Cuenca’s breakout year was the 2010/11 season, when he played a decisive role in Sabadell’s promotion-winning season from Segunda B to Segunda A. The following season he returned to Pep Guardiola’s Barça, where he enjoyed first team action and featured in 30 games for the senior side. However, he was seriously injured at the end of last season and he was not was given the green light to return to competitive play since 10 days ago.

The Smart Cities Meeting Point will be held on September 9th and will welcome experts from across Europe. The event brings together professionals experienced in the area of city development who will put forward their visions for more efficient and sustainable cities. The goal is for Tarragona City Council is to learn about new technological innovations, put itself at the forefront of technology and improve the day to day lives of its citizens.

Vueling will offer almost 1 million seats from Rome in eight different routes, including a new direct connection with Nantes. Rome will be Vueling’s third base abroad, after Amsterdam and Toulouse. “It is the first necessary step to consolidate Vueling’s growth in Rome and in Italy”, stated the Catalan airline’s CEO, Àlex Cruz.