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Post by ogsdog on Dec 17, 2009 15:03:35 GMT -1
Lionel Messi scored a goal on his return from injury Wednesday, coming off the bench to inspire Barcelona to produce a sublime performance as it beat Mexican club Atlante 3-1 and earned a spot in the Club World Cup final.
Messi showed no adverse effects from an ankle injury as he received a pass from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 54th minute and then rounded goalkeeper Federico Vilar to give Barcelona the lead with his first touch after replacing Yaya Toure in the 53rd minute.
"We know that Barcelona without Messi is still the best in the world," Atlante coach Jose Cruz said. "But with Messi on the field, they're from another galaxy."
Pedro Rodriguez sealed the victory in the 67th, becoming the first player to score in six different competitions in one year.
Atlante took advantage of the European champions sluggish start to take the lead in the fifth through Guillermo Rojas. But Sergio Busquets equalized in the 35th.
Barcelona will now face South American champion Estudiantes of Argentina in Saturday's final as it goes for an unprecedented sixth trophy in a calendar year.
"We are Barcelona and some people take for granted that we are going to win and it's very hard," said coach Pep Guardiola, who is hoping to guide Barcelona to its first win in its third appearance in the final. "It wasn't a marvelous game but it wasn't too bad."
Barcelona has already won the Champions League, Spanish league, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercup and European Supercup trophies in 2009. Pedro, who has been a regular in Pep Guardiola's squad since August, has scored in each of those competitions.
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Post by ogsdog on Dec 18, 2009 14:45:20 GMT -1
Barcelona winger Messi gets 1st Argentine opponent in Club World Cup final against EstudiantesBy Paul Logothetis (CP) – 2 hours ago ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Argentina international Lionel Messi is looking forward to a new challenge - playing a club from his native country for the first time. European champion Barcelona, playing for a sixth major trophy in 2009, will face Estudiantes on Saturday in the Club World Cup final, and the Golden Ball winner will start despite an ankle injury. "It's special to play against them, a very nice thing since I've never played against an Argentine team," Messi said Friday. Messi never played in Argentina because Barcelona signed him from Newell's Old Boys when he was only a teenager. Now he can help lead the Catalan club to its first trophy in the Club World Cup in its third final appearance. "We're conscious of what is possible. We have everything we need," said Messi, who has scored 15 goals in 22 appearances this season. "We need to win to close out the year with another title not only for the historical importance to the club and to world football." Messi said coming up against Juan Sebastian Veron was an extra incentive since the two bonded when they were Argentina teammates at the 2007 Copa America. "We got closer there and he helped to give me a lot of confidence," Messi said. "He helped me a lot." Messi looked set to start after recovering from an ankle injury to score with his first touch in the Spanish champion's 3-1 semifinal win over Mexican club Atlante. Messi's not worried about getting banged up by what is expected to be a physical game. "They're like that. But we have to play the same way we always do," Messi said. "It's up to the referee to make the decisions." Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said Messi's incredible season was a collective effort. "This has not just been a good year for Leo in his desire to be the world's best," Guardiola said. "It's also depended on all of his teammates." Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Post by ogsdog on Dec 19, 2009 23:58:19 GMT -1
 Barcelona beat Estudiantes to win the Club World CupBarcelona's players celebrate after beating Argentina's Estudiantes to win the Club World CupBarcelona secured a record sixth piece of silverware this season with a 2-1 extra-time victory over Estudiantes in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
Lionel Messi's 110th-minute goal capped a stunning comeback by Barca after they had trailed since the 39th minute.
Mauro Bosselli gave Estudiantes the lead before substitute Pedro Rodriguez equalised with a minute to go.
The Catalan side have also won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, Champions League and European and Spanish Super Cup titles. |
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Post by Golden_Boy™ on Jan 7, 2010 11:20:21 GMT -1
Gutted for Estudiantes cos whilst Barca wanted to win it this competition means an awful lot more to Arg clubs and it's supporters. They start talking about it 6 months ahead whilst it was probably the last thing on Barca's mind. You could see the despair on the faces of the Estudiantes players at the end. It was a cruel way to lose a match having defended so well throughout but that's football I guess Again, I find myself in agreement with you, Sam. Estu finished their league campaign early in order to prepare for this comp. Whereas Barca, like pretty much all of the European sides now - don't really care about it too much. Such a comp should mean more to European sides I feel. Tim Vickery did a good blog on this subject recently. |
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Post by ogsdog on Jan 28, 2010 21:37:55 GMT -1
Gutted for Estudiantes cos whilst Barca wanted to win it this competition means an awful lot more to Arg clubs and it's supporters. They start talking about it 6 months ahead whilst it was probably the last thing on Barca's mind. You could see the despair on the faces of the Estudiantes players at the end. It was a cruel way to lose a match having defended so well throughout but that's football I guess Again, I find myself in agreement with you, Sam. Estu finished their league campaign early in order to prepare for this comp. Whereas Barca, like pretty much all of the European sides now - don't really care about it too much. Such a comp should mean more to European sides I feel. Tim Vickery did a good blog on this subject recently. The thing I like about Barca' though is they show-up & win the BIG GAMES !!!  |
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Post by Golden_Boy™ on Jan 29, 2010 15:37:05 GMT -1
Again, I find myself in agreement with you, Sam. Estu finished their league campaign early in order to prepare for this comp. Whereas Barca, like pretty much all of the European sides now - don't really care about it too much. Such a comp should mean more to European sides I feel. Tim Vickery did a good blog on this subject recently. The thing I like about Barca' though is they show-up & win the BIG GAMES !!! They struggled in the one we are talking about, though!  Which goes back to the whole point of European sides not taking the competition seriously enough. It really is a shame I think, it's the only proper cup that unites clubs from all over the world. If it was marketed better and there was real interest from both fans and clubs, it could potentially be a great competition. |
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Post by ogsdog on Jan 29, 2010 15:43:20 GMT -1
The thing I like about Barca' though is they show-up & win the BIG GAMES !!! They struggled in the one we are talking about, though! Which goes back to the whole point of European sides not taking the competition seriously enough. It really is a shame I think, it's the only proper cup that unites clubs from all over the world. If it was marketed better and there was real interest from both fans and clubs, it could potentially be a great competition. They should play the final at a European Venu, for example Wembley, Camp Nou or San Siro. |
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