Derby preparations for the Catalan Giants
The Spanish La Liga table-toppers, Barcelona are going to be involved in a tough away fixture as they are going to face their local city rivals Espanyol. The Catalan Giants have been in great form this season and they have managed
to leave a “bad season start” behind them. With as much as eight Barcelona players featuring in the FIFA World Cup 2010’s final, it was hard for Josep Guardiola to rest his favourite side. The players hardly got a month to rest and it was hard for them to
maintain fitness; especially Xavi Hernandez who was able to play in more than fifty games last season.
The Catalan coach Josep Guardiola used his men well and gave the important ones the well-deserved rest. During the pre season not every player was played as most of them were rested and later on he kept on switching the “old” centre
back Carles Puyol with the full back Eric Abidal in order to keep fitness intact along with form. Fitness was the main reason why the Spanish Champions suffered a home loss to a newly promoted Spanish La Liga side Hercules. However, later the Catalan boss
kept his team’s fitness in the right place as they won all the games while being away from home.
Now, with Barcelona going to a stadium next-door for a tough competition, Josep Guardiola made sure he plays his favourite side. The Catalan coach decided to change the “scenery” for his training players as he decided to train
inside the Nou Camp rather than their training site, Ciutat Esportiva.
The Barcelona boss called up 20 men for the penultimate training session before the game. Apart from the first team players, the Barca B midfielder Thiago Alcantara was seen along with them to get the ultimate first team experience.
The Spanish midfielder has been impressive while being a part of Barcelona and with the Cesc Fabregas’ deal failing during the summer he has managed to replace the midfielder magician Xavi Hernandez in the midfield, while he is being rested.
The training included the usual warm up exercises. After the warm up, the traditional stretching routines were followed by all the Barcelona players. However, the spells of all these exercises were rigorous just in case that no
player gets affected by the cold breeze.
The only two first team players that did not feature along with the twenty selected squad members were Gabriel Milito and Jeffren Suarez. The Argentinean centre back Gabriel Milito is still recovering his thigh injury and he was
working individually with the club doctor. On the other hand, Jeffren Suarez was working individually with his trainer in order to retain his fitness, as he also did not work with the main squad.
haT� mrа (A e the past season. He stated that last year they were very physical and they have not lost that characteristic this time as well. He said that they really have what it takes to pressurize their opponents and they
come forward as a group. He agreed that this year they are better than before and it will be great for him to get involved in such a big game.
Since Barcelona are going to be visiting their neighbouring ground Cornella-El Prat, things are going to be very different. There is no doubt that Josep Guardiola’s men have been extraordinary while being away. They have not drawn
or lost a single game while being away from home. However, there has not been a single great test until now and Espanyol are going to be the first biggest side that Barcelona are going to face away from home in the Spanish La Liga.
Victor Valdes commented on the Stadium that he is going to play in. The Barcelona number 1 stated that the environment in Espanyol’s home ground is amazing every year. He said that the environment is such that every professional
would love to play in. He stated that he has been involved in many big games for the past few years but Cornella-El Prat is one of the most intense grounds.
When he was asked about the clean sheets that he has kept, he said that he is not the only one to be awarded for it. He stated that even though he is the one who is to stop the final threat of conceding a goal, Gerard Pique and
Carles Puyol do a remarkable job and do not let the other team reach him. However, he also stated that he does not get bored of watching his teammates play. He stated that for a large period, he is absent from the game as his team is constructing a move to
score a goal, but he finds it interesting and he also works hard to start a move from the back.
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