barcelona

Barça beat Bayern Munich 2-0 and won their first trophy of the season. Two goals from Thiago Alcantara in the 41st and the 74th minute decided a game that Barça dominated from the start

Barça needed a penalty shootout to beat Inter of Porto Alegre, after the 90 minutes of their Audi Cup semi-final ended 2-2. On the basis of opportunities created and control of play, Guardiola’s side deserved to win by a large margin.

Barça drew against Hajduk Split in the first pre-season game. Despite their clear superiority in terms of play, possession and chances, Pep Guardiola’s team was unable to get past Subasic in the Hajduk goal. Villa, Soriano, and Jeffren however came close on a number of occasions.

The Catalan capital secures this global event despite competition from Paris, Milan and Munich. The economic impact for the entire period of 2013-2018 is estimated at a staggering 3459 million.

Barcelona, the so called 'Pick pocketing Capital of Europe' takes small steps to changing its reputation by ensuring a police presence on the metro. For the last three years, the estimated 150 thieves who operate on Barcelona's metro have been met by the lone efforts of Eliana Guerrero, a native Colombian who has made it her mission to warn the city against the dangers of pick pockets.

Known as the 'boy wonder', Alexis Sanchez (22) is the right-winger capable of playing in any of the three attacking positions. Fast and skilful, the Chilean also stands out for his tactical discipline.

Pedro Rodríguez spoke to reporters after training on Thursday and explained that the squad is excited about the season ahead and already working hard to ensure another successful campaign

Sports director Andoni Zubizarreta has recognised that the negotiations to sign Alexis Sánchez and finalise Bojan Krkic's departure are almost complete. On Cesc, he insists that the negotiations have been clean.

Up to 80 daily operations take place between the Catalan and the Spanish capitals The fourth route with the greatest passenger volume is Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca.

The squad will be back in training on Monday –exactly 50 days since their Champions League triumph at Wembley. During their holiday break, the Club have made three important contract renewals and five of the players have won European international honours.

There has been a 400% increase in attendance of official Barça summer schools (FCB Camp) with respect to last year. More than 18,000 children are enjoying the summer camps organised by FC Barcelona.

FC Barcelona will face Girona FC in Tarragona’s Nou Estadi, in the semi finals of the Copa Catalunya on Monday, August 8. The other semi final is between RCD Espanyol and Nàstic de Tarragona.

The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, supports the Union for the Mediterranean initiative. The UfM decided to build its first project in Gaza: a desalinisation water plant and distribution system. Abbas will meet with the new Secretary General of the UfM, Youssef Amrani, who took office last week.

On Monday FC Barcelona’s pre-season begins with five friendly matches, or to be more accurate, in the words of Barça’s coach Gaurdiola, with five non-official matches. Pep Guardiola has shown that he wants to win every match.

According to the consultancy firm Jones Lang Lasalle, the office rental rate for second quarter of 2011 in Barcelona has increased 42% compared to the same period in 2010. 74,500 square metres of new office space have been rented out between April and June 2011, 14% more than those registered during the first quarter. The “prime” zone has reached 2005 activity levels.