Neymar scored his first goal for FC Barcelona to break the deadlock in Bangkok against the Thai national team. The other scorers were Messi (2), Pedro (3) and Alexis in a game that was over by halftime (5-1). On Wednesday, Barça played the fifth of the series of friendlies and they are getting better and better under Tata Martino as the 2013/14 season goes on. FC Barcelona’s next step will be Malaysia.
Palestinian and Israeli children, some disabled, enjoyed a day they’ll never forget in front of a packed Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium with FC Barcelona. The second and final clinic in the Holy Land for the so-called ‘Peace Tour’ – before the Catalan team heads for Asia – was followed by a somewhat more intense training session than in Dura, in the West Bank. During Sunday evening’s clinic in Tel Aviv, Leo Messi was accompanied by Mohamad, a 17-year-old from Palestine, and Assael, a 19-year-old from Israel.
More than 24,000 people welcomed Barça to Dura, in Palestine, where the Catalan team held the first clinic on the ‘Peace Tour’. Located close to Hebron, the Dura Stadium was packed to welcome FC Barcelona’s full first team and coaching staff, who everyone in this country is used to seeing on television. The players, who were received by a banner in Catalan, trained with a group of 40 Palestinian boys and girls.
Barça thrashed Santos by an incredible eight goals to nil in the 48th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy. The goals came from Messi, Léo (og), Alexis, Pedro, Cesc (2), Adriano and Dongou. It was the Camp Nou’s first chance to see FC Barcelona’s new manager, Tata Martino, and the star striker, Neymar Jr. The stadium also bade a final farewell to one of the biggest legend’s in club history, the great keeper Antoni Ramallets, who died on Tuesday.
FC Barcelona home fans will have the first chance to see the team this season, after friendlies in Munich, Oslo and Gdansk. Neymar, one of the big draws for the game, will be set to face his ex-club. In addition, Barça’s new coach Tata Martino will speak to the crowd before the game along with captain Carles Puyol. Puyol will be one of the four squad players who will miss the game through injury, alongside Afellay, Cuenca and Tello. Furthermore, Barça’s legendary keeper Antoni Ramallets, who passed away earlier this week, will also be honoured before the game.
Barça drew away to a defiant Lechia side with goals from Sergi Roberto and Messi, both times to cancel out earlier efforts from the home side. July 30, 2013 is a date Barça fans will remember for two reasons. The first is a sad one, for one of the greatest players ever to represent FC Barcelona, Antoni Ramallets, passed away. A minute’s silence was respected in his honour in Gdansk, and the players wore black armbands. However, it was also the day Neymar, FC Barcelona’s new Brazilian star, made his first appearance for the team, playing 15 minutes in the friendly in Gdansk.
Barça cruised to victory against Valerenga in the second game of the 2013/14 preseason. FC Barcelona’s seven goals were scored by Alexis, Tello, Messi, Dos Santos, Dongou (2) and Joan Román. The Catalan team’s new manager Tata Martino was watching from the stands in the Ullevaal Stadium. Barça got off to a storming start. After just thirteen minutes they had already found the Valerenga net three times. All three goals involved Leo Messi.
The new Barça Manager has signed his two-year contract this Friday morning and has hold his press conference as the Catalan team coach. Tata Martino feels maintaining the team’s hunger to win is the key to ensuring the success continues. “At Barça, the shirt alone is enough to motivate”, said the Argentinean when asked to describe his feelings about the challenges ahead. Tata also spoke about the players he is taking over. “If Messi and Neymar can’t work together, that’s because the coach has a problem, not the players” he said.
Barça 2013/14 started the preseason with defeat to Guardiola’s Bayern at the Allianz Arena. They couldn’t have had a more daunting task in their first game back from the break, and under the circumstances it was a fine performance from the Catalans. Lahm (min 13) and Mandzukic (min 86) scored against a side that had clearly had more time to prepare. There are plenty of conclusions to be drawn from a game packed with curiosities, including the reencounter with Pep Guardiola and Thiago and the first game in the shirt based on the colours of the Catalan flag.
FC Barcelona begin the 2013/14 preseason with a friendly against the reigning champions of Europe, Bayern Munich. Pep Guardiola and Thiago Alcántara, now on the bench and in the midfield of the German team, will face off against their ex-team. Barça is made up of 12 first team players and 11 Barça B players. After the match against Bayern, the Catalan team will travel to Oslo.
Last week Lionel Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi were formally accused by the Spanish Public Prosecution Office of having evaded €4 million in taxes regarding his image rights between 2007 and 2009. The judge in charge of the case has decided to indict the FC Barcelona player and his father. She has asked them to come to the court with their lawyers on the 17th of September to be interrogated, in order to decide whether she will formally accuse them or not. Messi’s lawyers issued a press release in which they stated the player’s will to cooperate with the judicial process and added he will pay whatever he is told. However, they also insisted on Messi’s innocence, emphasising they “are sure” he has already honoured his fiscal obligations. In addition, the Argentinean player released a statement last week fully denying the accusations.
The FC Barcelona player denies having evaded taxes. “We have not committed an offence” and “we have always honoured our fiscal obligations” stated Lionel Messi in a note published on his Facebook account. On Wednesday, the Public Prosecution Office accused the Argentinean football player and his father Jorge Horacio Messi of not having paid €4 million to the Spanish Tax Agency in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Prosecution Office believes they hid “important revenue” deriving from image rights and “simulated” signing over the image rights to societies based in fiscal havens such as Belize or Uruguay or with addresses in countries particularly permissive with such societies such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
56,500 Barça fans came to the Camp Nou to welcome Neymar to FC Barcelona. "Barça are more than a club and a great team and I want to help Leo Messi to continue to be the greatest player in the world," he said. Neymar da Silva Junior signed his contract with FC Barcelona on Monday afternoon. He will be a Barça player through the 2017/18 season. The signing ceremony took place at thye club’s offices in the Catalan capital. The player, Barça President Sandro Rosell, Vice President Josep Maria Bartomeu and the Football Director Andoni Zubizarreta were all in attendance.
A goal from Pedro and an own goal by Marc Valiente gave Barça the win that takes them to 94 points. Nothing can stop Barça in the Spanish League this season. Tito Vilanova’s men chalked up another win at the Camp Nou on Sunday night, seeing off Valladolid in what proved to be quite a tricky game.
Tests carried out on Tuesday morning have revealed that the FC Barcelona player has a strained hamstring in his right leg. The Argentinean limped off in the second half at the Calderon on Sunday after noting a twinge in the area he had previously been injured in. Messi’s participation in future games will depend on his recovery process.