Barcelona Humble In Victory

Barcelona are now so used to winning by large margins this season that their post-match press conferences are becoming quite predictable. On Saturday night, the squad once again stressed the need to avoid getting carried away.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Samuel Eto'o said, "We needed the victory and although it was complicated, we won the game at a difficult ground. At the end of the day, all the games are worth three points just like this one."

The Cameroonian then spoke of his impact on the game: "I was alive for the goal and when I struck it Palop was badly placed. I want to play not just as a forward but all over the pitch and I enjoy working hard." Eto'o made seven tackles last night, an impressive number for a forward. 

Finally, the striker spoke of his sadness at being suspended for next week's match against Valencia: "It is a pity but I am going to work hard in training to help my team mates win the game."

The only consolation for Eto'o will be that his suspension should ensure that he is available to play against Real Madrid, an opponent he loves to score against. 

Lionel Messi was the man of the match, and he said, "Sevilla are a great team that made life complicated. I believe that we are in the middle of a great season and we need to continue like this."

Messi then revealed that the squad knew about Real Madrid's loss before the match, but stated, "We have to continue winning and if they also lose, then it's even better."

Finally, club captain Carles Puyol had his say: "These three points are important because they will give us confidence. If we continue like this then things will work out well."

Fans of Valencia and Real Madrid will be hoping that the press conferences in the coming weeks are not similar to this one.

Arjun Miglani

Laporta: Messi Is The World's Best

All the talk around footballing circles in recent times has been about the identity of the world's best player, and Joan Laporta has wasted no time in nailing his colours firmly to Lionel Messi's mast. 

Speaking after the match, Laporta said, "He is the best in the world. He is the most decisive player."

The Barca supremo then went on to praise the rest of the team, saying, "Samuel Eto'o was so important in obtaining the victory. But all these individualities only shine when they play as a team. Despite the 3-0 scoreline, it was a very complicated victory, especially after such an even first half."

He then spoke of what it was like to be a supporter watching the match, stating, "It was very intense, as these kind of games always are."

Finally, Laporta calmed the nerves of Barca fans by assuring them that Xavi's renewed contract was a mere formality, saying, "He will continue at Barca for many years, and there are only a few small details remaining which are not going to complicate the renewal."

Luckily for Cristiano Ronaldo, Laporta does not get to vote for the winner of the Ballon D'Or.

Arjun Miglani

Mikel Arteta: Lionel Messi Is Simply Unbeatable

The former Real Sociedad and Rangers player has been watching Lionel Messi tear defences apart this season, and he has simply said that the Blaugrana winger is 'unbeatable'.

He told journalists, "It is as if someone commands him from the stands, like a video game. I have never seen a human run with the ball at that speed. I have not seen Maradona so I cannot compare, but Messi is simply unbeatable."

Lionel Messi is argubly in the form of his short career at the moment, and is integral to every aspect of Barcelona's play. It is no surprise to see players and managers across Europe speaking out about the pleasure of watching him play.

He missed the weekend league match, and his side struggled to grab a 1-1 draw aginst mid-table Getafe. He returned to the starting line-up against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night, and his side stormed to a 5-2 victory.

Arteta, who started his career at Barcelona before moving to Glasgow to join Rangers, has clearly been impressed by Messi and his ability to leave defenders in his wake with incredible ease.

The 21-year old, who made his debut against Espanyol in October 2004, has thirteen goals in all competitions for the Catalan club so far this season, and his five strikes in the Champions League makes him joint-top scorer in the competition.

Paul Macdonald, Goal.com

Del Piero, Messi Tops Champions League Internet Polls

An internet survey conducted by the biggest sports dailies in Italy and Spain have placed Alessandro Del Piero and Lionel Messi as the two best performers so far in this season’s Champions League.

Italy’s La Gazetta dello Sport and Spain’s Marca conducted a joint survey on their respective website, asking readers and fans to vote for their best player in the Champions League so far after five rounds of the group phase.

And there was no doubting the result as Juventus captain Alessandro Del Piero easily topped the polls, with Barcelona’s young sensation, Lionel Messi in second place, but quite some way behind.

Del Piero amassed close to 200, 000 votes, a full 100, 000 ahead of the Argentine wunderkind, with Sergio Agüero, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Joseba Llorente rounding up the top five.

The highest ranked English player was Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, who came in at sixth spot. It is worth remembering that the on-going survey is organized by the sports journal in Italy and Spain and is in no way affiliated with any official UEFA rankings.

La Gazetta And Marca Internet Poll Results

1. Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) – 196, 133 votes

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 93, 927

3. Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid) – 50, 549

4. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid – 38, 631

5. Joseba Llorente (Villarreal) – 31, 650

6. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – 28, 502

7. Bojan Krkic (Barcelona) – 28, 493

8. Fernando Gago (Real Madrid) – 24, 947

9. Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais) – 22, 296

10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan) – 17, 495

Messi Tips Ronaldo To Win Ballon D'Or

'The Flea' is prepared for a runners-up spot when the Golden Ball votes are counted next month...

Ballon d'Or nominee Lionel Messi has tipped his rival Cristiano Ronaldo to claim European football's most prestigious individual award.

The run up to December's announcement of the Golden Ball winner of 2008 has been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo.

The Argentinean and the Portuguese are out on their own as clear favourites for the award, and Barcelona star Messi concedes that his Manchester United counterpart has the edge on him.

Ronaldo has claimed a slew of individual awards already this year. He has accrued the FIFPro World Player of the Year honour, along with the English Football Writers Award and the Premier League Players' Player of the Year.

The 23-year-old has also been named the Uefa Club Footballer of the Year and has won the Golden Boot for his return of 42 goals last season.

Combined with those accolades, the former Sporting Lisbon man helped the Red Devils to the Premier League title and the Champions League to cap a truly remarkable year.

Speaking in the wake of Barcelona's 5-2 win over Ronaldo's former club in Portugal, Leo Messi was questioned by the local media for his prediction on the outcome of the Ballon d'Or vote.

Playing up the significance of such an honour, Messi plumped for his foe.

He said: "I think the Ballon d'Or is an important competition. He won the Champions League, the Premier League as well, he won them, so I think he will be awarded the prize."

Ronaldo came in for some criticism earlier this month with his declaration that he was the 'best, second best and third best' footballer at work in the world, and it is not a manner in which the modest Messi views himself.

On Ronaldo's outlandish statement, the 21-year-old was coy.

He said: "Each one is how he is. I am a footballer and that is all I care about. As they say in Barcelona, the important thing is to have the respect and support of my teammates. I am happy with that."

Peter Staunton, Goal.com

Guardiola: “Good first half, strange second”

Roger Bogunyà

Josep Guardiola had his own take on FC Barcelona impressive win against Sporting Clube on Wednesday as he stated that his side had been “very good” in the first half, but that the second period was “very strange”.

The Blaugrana coach had his reasons for describing the encounter like that as the scoreboard went from 0-3 to 2-4 in the space of just three incredible minutes. Guardiola admitted that Barça had been “lucky” to go 2-4 ahead thanks to the own goal and stated that the pitch made things difficult for his players “because they had to control and then re-control the ball and that caused us problems”.

Messi’s position

Lionel Messi returned to the side and started the game in the centre of the three attacking players for Barça in the José Alvalade, but then went to flanks after the team went ahead. Guardiola explained why the change was made. “Messi played in the number nine role because Sporting played with a diamond formation and I thought that if he was in the middle then he could take on their centre-backs directly,” the trainer said. “Playing out wide is more demanding and we wanted to protect him.”

Confidence in Bojan

After deciding to take Messi off, Guardiola was keen to give Bojan Krkic a run out and he went on in place of Thierry Henry. “I wanted Bojan to play in the middle and it was well,” he continued. “Our previous game was not so good, but on Wednesday things went well.” The coach then explained that he had nothing to do with the young forward’s decision to take the penalty that saw Barça go 2-5 ahead.

Barça reinforces its stand against AIDS

www.fcbarcelona.cat

FC Barcelona is the first sports club to be invited to the presentation of Unicef’s annual report on Aids.

On occasion of World AIDS Day, FC Barcelona has been invited by Unicef to the presentation of its report, Children and AIDS: Third Stocktaking Report, which presents the latest data on the evolution of the disease among children around the world.

The event will take place next Monday, December 1, at the United Nations headquarters. It will be attended by a group of FC Barcelona representatives headed by its president, Joan Laporta, vice president Alfons Godall and the general director of the Foundation, Marta Segú. The Unicef team attending the event will be made up of Jimmy Kolker, director of the HIV/AIDS program, Unicef and officers from UNAIDS and the WHO.

Presentation of the sporting sections at Barça

During the presentation of the report, FC Barcelona will review the actions it has promoted through its Foundation and in collaboration with Unicef to support the fight against Aids in Swaziland, Angola and Malawi. At the same time, the club will unveil a series of promotional videos (produced by Barça TV) that were created to raise awareness and inform about the projects that the Foundation and Unicef are working on together.

Temporary Pep Bonet exposition

After that, at the Unicef headquarters, the inauguration will be held in the Danny Kaye Visitors Centre of a photography exhibition titled Impact of HIV/AIDS: Life and hopes of orphans in Swaziland, with photographs by Majorcan Pep Bonet. The display, which was promoted by the Foundation and already went on show a few months ago at the Camp Nou, is the work of renowned photographer Pep Bonet and depicts the lives of the orphaned children living in remote rural regions of that country.