The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Barcelona

  • Lionel Messi adds Pichichi award

    Lionel Messi adds Pichichi award

     

    Barcelona star Lionel Messi has added even more trophies to his massive collection after receiving two awards from Spanish sports newspaper Marca on Monday.

    The Argentine, following the Catalan giants’ 4-0 victory over Deportivo on Sunday, was pictured celebrating with the Pichichi award and the Alfredo Di Stefano award at a ceremony in Barcelona.

    The Pichichi trophy, named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael ‘Pichichi’ Moreno Aranzadi, is awarded by Marca to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season.

    Messi added to his trophy haul after scoring a remarkable 37 goals in 34 league games last season, two more than Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez.

    Meanwhile, the 30-year-old also picked up the Alfredo Di Stefano award on Monday, which is won by the best player in La Liga.

    Messi was also pictured posing with team-mate Andres Iniesta, who won Spain’s Most Valuable Player award, at the Marca Sports Journal Award ceremony.

    The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has enjoyed a successful couple of days after helping Barcelona thrash Deportivo 4-0 in La Liga on Sunday at the Nou Camp.

    The victory has ensured Ernesto Valverde’s side sit six points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid in the Spanish top flight ahead of their highly anticipated clash with arch rivals Real Madrid on Saturday afternoon.

    The Catalan giants, having played a game more, currently lie 11 points clear of the Bernabeu outfit.

  • Five things to know about Lineker – 2018 world cup draw host

    Five things to know about Lineker – 2018 world cup draw host

    Gary Lineker, who won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup, was announced last week as the host and will be partnered by Russian Sports Journalists, Maria Komandnaya to coordinate together the 2018 World Cup final draw billed for Friday, December 1, 2017.

    It is less than a week for the draws that will determine the groupings of the 32 countries that had booked a ticket at next year’s World Cup in Russia, and it is pertinent to have an insight of who Lineker, the main conductor of the Draw Ceremony is.

    These 5 things about Lineker, starting with the more astonishing ones to the most jaw-dropping, are guaranteed to keep your head swirling. Carefully go through them.

    1. Was predicted not to make a living out of football:

    After leaving school with just four O’ Levels, one of Lineker’s teachers predicted that he would never make it as a footballer.

    The teacher attributed the failure to his passion for football, and he wrote on his report card that “he concentrates too much on football and that he would never make a living at that.”

    1. England’s highest goal scorer at the World Cup:

    The former striker who was capped 80 times by England is the Three Lions’ all-time scorer at the World Cup with 10 goals.

    With six goals at the 1986 World Cup, Lineker emerged as the top scorer of the tournament, one that had the likes of Jorge Valdano, Socrates and Diego Maradona as participants.

    No English player has yet to win a World Cup Golden Boot even after seven World Cups.

    1. Highest goal scorer with three different English clubs:

    The former Barcelona forward is the only player to have been the top scorer with three different clubs in England. In 1984 for Leiceser City, Lineker emerged as the joint top scorer with Chelsea’s Kerry Dixon. The duo recorded 24 goals apiece.

    In 1985, Lineker moved to Everton in a deal worth around £800,000. He scored 30 goals for Everton in his debut season and finished the season as the league’s top scorer for the second time in a row.

    In the 1989 season, he emerged again as the English league’s top division highest scorer– scoring 24 goals for Tottenham Hotspur.

    1. Presented a show in 2016 with shorts:

    Lineker, who is BT Sport’s lead presenter for Champions League back in 2016, appeared in the first BBC Match of the Day for the 2016/2017 season in boxer shorts.

    The 57-year-old had promised in a tweet in 2015 that, if his former club, Leicester, should win the 2015/2016 Premier League, he would appear on the BBC match of the day in his undies. And appear he did!

    1. Had zero yellow card in his entire playing career:

    With a 16-year playing career that saw him had spells with the likes of Barcelona, Tottenham, Leicester City, Everton and Nagoya Grampus Eight, Lineker went his entire career without receiving neither a yellow card nor a red. This feat earned him the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1990.

    Hope Lineker has a great day on Friday like he did during his playing days.

  • Messi signs new deal with €700million buyout clause

    Messi signs new deal with €700million buyout clause

     

     

    Lionel Messi has signed a new deal to stay at Barcelona until 2021, with the Catalan giants inserting a €700million buyout clause into the terms.

    Barca said in July that Messi had agreed a contract until June 2021, which would be signed “in the coming weeks”.

    The lack of confirmation on that agreement had led to talk that Messi could sensationally leave Camp Nou, with the Argentina superstar reportedly the subject of an audacious bid from Manchester City for his services.

    However, Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu said earlier this month that Messi had signed three different deals – agreements with his Messi Foundation and one relating to image rights to run alongside the contract of employment – to cement his long-term future at the club.

    And the long-running saga finally came to end on Saturday, with Messi putting pen to paper on his fresh terms the five-time European champions

    Messi claimed his fourth European Golden Shoe award on Friday after netting 37 times in La Liga in 2016-17.

    The Argentinian headed Sporting CP’s Bas Dost (34 goals in Portugal’s Primeira Liga) and Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (31 in the Bundesliga) in the top three to claim the prize, which is presented to Europe’s top goalscorer.

    After also winning the award in 2012-13 (46 league goals), 2011-12 (50) and 2009-10 (34), Messi is tied with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo for most regular winner of the Golden Sh

    Messi’s 37 goals last season came in 34 Spanish top-flight appearances, but they were delivered as part of losing cause, as Real pipped Barca to the title.

    The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has netted 12 goals in 12 games in the 2017-18 La Liga campaign.

    He is trailing Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, who have netted 15 goals in Serie A and Ligue 1, respectively, in the race for this year’s Golden Shoe. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, AS Monaco’s Radamel Falcao and Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi have all netted 13 times.

    Ronaldo, though, does not look like troubling the upper echelon of the European Golden Shoe rankings anytime soon, as he has netted just once in La Liga this season.

    Messi, 30, will be looking to add to his tally on Sunday when top-of-the-table Barca travel to face second-place Valencia at the Mestalla.

  • Messi set to welcome baby No 3 with Roccuzzo

    Messi set to welcome baby No 3 with Roccuzzo

     

    Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is set to welcome another son into his family after he, along with wife Antonela Roccuzzo, revealed they are expecting a baby boy.

    Roccuzzo took to Instagram last month to announce to the world she was pregnant with her third child, posting a picture of showing herself, Messi and their two sons touching her stomach alongside the caption: ‘Family of 5. Blessed.’

    This week she appeared to announce to the world that their next child would be a boy after posting a birthday celebration for their eldest son Thiago, who recently turned five.

    Leaving a touching message on Instagram to mark his fifth birthday, Roccuzzo wrote in Spanish: ‘Happy Birthday Thiagui. Five years old. How big you are my love. I hope you’re always this happy.

    Finishing off the message as a caption for the image of Thiago on a swing, she added the long hashtag – referring to the couple’s other son Mateo as Matu: #papimamimatuytuhnitoencamino #nopodemosamartemas.

    The hashtag sentence in Spanish translates into English as ‘Daddy and Mummy, Matu And Your Little Brother on the way, we cannot possibly love you any more.’

    Media in Messi’s native Argentina immediately jumped upon this as a sign their majestic No 10 would soon be welcoming another young son into the world.

    Roccuzzo used the shortened form of the word ‘Hermanito’ – Little Brother – at the end of the message rather than Hermanita, meaning Little Sister.

    It has been a busy year for the couple, who married in their hometown of Rosario in Argentina back in June.

    The entire Barcelona squad turned out for the ceremony, with Messi accompanied by his striking duo Luis Suarez and Neymar, before the latter completed his world record move to PSG.

    Messi has been in inspired form for Barca this season and currently leads the scoring stakes in La Liga.

    The Argentine maestro has 12 goals from 10 games played so far this season, with Barca sitting four points clear at the top of the table with 28.

  • Amuneke to Success: Face your soccer career

    Amuneke to Success: Face your soccer career

     

    Former Barcelona star, Emmanuel Amuneke has advised embattled Nigerian youngster, Isaac Success to stay focused on his football career because ‘football won’t last forever.’

    On 11 September 2017, Success allegedly paid four female escorts £500 each and took them to his luxury hotel suite at Sopwell House in St Albans but could not perform after swigging two bottles of Baileys.

    When the ladies sought to leave, the former youth international who was reportedly drunk at the time demanded for his money to be refunded but an argument ensued and the police were alerted.

    Success is now being investigated by Hertfordshire Constabulary police department following allegations of assault but Amuneke believes that the 21-year-old can get out of the quagmire.

    “It was sad to hear about the unfortunate event but it has happened and he needs to pick himself up and move on,” Amuneke told The Nation

    “The truth is that football won’t last forever, so he needs to focus because his achievements today will help him stay relevant even when his playing days are over.

    The former Super Eagles winger, who coached Success as part of the Nigeria U-17 technical crew in 2013 hailed Watford FC for standing by the player and advised the ex- Granada forward to listen more to his manager, Marco Silva.

    “I must commend the club for standing by him and the comments of the manager (Silva) has been very positive which shows that he believes in the player,” he said.

    “I know Isaac very well because he trained with us at the Under-17 level (with Nigeria). He is strong, fast and has an eye for goal which can make him a great player in future but he needs to cut away behaviours that will affect his game.”

    Success has made just one appearance for Watford this season and it came in the 3-2 defeat against Championship side Bristol City in the League Cup.

  • Catalan towns take down Spanish flags

    Catalan towns take down Spanish flags

    Spanish flags were taken down in several towns of Catalonia on Friday, after the region’s parliament voted in favour of independence from Madrid.

    Flags were removed from the town halls of Sabadell, Catalonia’s fifth-largest city, and of Girona, whose former mayor is Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont.

    Similar actions were taken in other municipalities such as Figueres, Vic and Tortosa, but not in the regional capital of Barcelona, whose mayor, Ada Colau, is against unilateral secession.

    In a social media message, Colau criticised the independence declaration and the Spanish government’s decision to counter it with the suspension of Catalan self-government.

    “We’re a majority, in Catalonia and in Spain, who want a halt to the confrontation and call for dialogue, common sense and an agreed solution to take hold,’’ she wrote. (dpa/NAN)

  • Real Madrid to abandon team bus for safety reasons

    Real Madrid to abandon team bus for safety reasons

    Real Madrid will not use their branded team bus to transport players for the trip to Catalonia to play Girona on Sunday for security reasons, Spanish media reported on Tuesday.

    The club do not want the vehicle to become a target due to political unrest in the region over Catalonia’s bid for independence.

    Madrid do not usually bring the team coach to matches which are considered high risk, like the “El Classico” in Barcelona or away at Athletic Bilbao.

    The team are planning to arrive in Girona by plane on Saturday evening before the match on Sunday, which they will travel to in an unmarked coach, Marca said.

    However, the plans are subject to change based on the political situation.

    Read Also:

    La Liga: Ronaldo Returns, Saves Madrid against Getafe

  • Barcelona wants to stay in La Liga amidst independence crisis – Club President

    Barcelona wants to stay in La Liga amidst independence crisis – Club President

    Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu on Saturday confirmed the club’s wishes to continue playing in La Liga, even if Catalonia is granted independence from Spain.

    The Spanish Government is holding a special cabinet meeting to deal with the crisis after Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont wrote Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy a letter, threatening a formal declaration of independence.

    Bartomeu previously said that the club members would be able to help decide Barcelona’s future, but speaking at the annual general meeting, the president was clear about his preferred option.

    “You can be sure that this board will always act in the club’s defence.

    “We will never put the club nor its presence in any competition at risk.

    “That’s why, to all the socios (members), I say that we want to continue playing in La Liga and, as of today, our participation in La Liga is guaranteed.

    “It’s mutually beneficial for La Liga and Barcelona for that link to continue,” said Bartomeu.

    He reiterated the club’s call for “dialogue, respect and sport”, a phrase which they displayed on a giant banner before their Champions League victory over Olympiakos on Wednesday.

    The president expressed his disapproval at the arrest of two leaders of the Catalan Independence Movement, Catalan National Assembly (ANC) Head Jordi Sanchez and independence group Omnium’s leader Jordi Cuixart.

    “We know that Barca is ‘more than a club’ and must be a space for harmony and respect.

    “There must be respect for everyone, minorities and majorities, to think what they things, all institutions and people.

    “For that reasons, it’s unacceptable that in this century there are people in prison for their political ideas,” Bartomeu said.

    The club also confirmed their predicted forecast of a record revenue of 897 million Euros ($1 billion) for the 2017-18 season.

    He said they were making good progress in negotiations to find a sponsor for Camp Nou, which they were planning to rebuild.

    “The renovation of Camp Nou is essential to achieve new income for the club.

    “In that regard, negotiations to find a company to sponsor the stadium are going well,” explained Bartomeu. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Barcelona budgets €897million for 2017-18 season

    Barcelona budgets €897million for 2017-18 season

     

    Barcelona have approved their largest ever budget of €897million for 2017-18, following a record revenue in 2016-17.

    The LaLiga giants’ earnings of €708m for 2016-17 were presented at the club’s General Assembly on Saturday, with club members then approving next year’s record budget with 391 votes for and 49 against.

    The huge revenues did not include the €222m received from Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar, which should prompt another record-breaking set of figures in a year’s time.

    It is the first time Barca have surpassed the €700m barrier in terms of revenue for a fiscal year, and the club have now accumulated a profit of €175m since 2010.

    Barca plan to have earned €1billion in revenues by 2021, though that strategy could be threatened by the political unrest in Spain following the Catalan independence referendum.

    Regardless of how the political situation is resolved, however, Barca have no plans to leave LaLiga, with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu insisting a place in Spain’s top-flight is key to continuing their financial development.

    “Barca is more than a club and it must be a place of concurrence and respect,” Bartomeu told the assembly.

    “You must respect all, minorities and majorities, think about how you think.

    “Barca will not be manipulated by political interests, or where they came from. We want to continue playing in the League and our participation is guaranteed.

    “The viability of both institutions goes on.”

    Barcelona are however not the only ones counting their blessings over improved revenue.  In the Bundesliga Bayern Munich announced a new record turnover of €640.45million for the 2016-17 season despite failing to get beyond the Champions League quarter-finals.

    Carlo Ancelotti guided the team to a fifth successive Bundesliga title, and although there was little other success on the field in terms of trophies, the club enjoyed a hugely positive year financially.

    At Saturday’s Annual General Meeting, it was revealed that their pre-tax profits increased by 22.2 per cent to €66.2m, while post-tax profits were €39.2m, up 18.6 per cent on the previous year.

  • What did Messi take during Barca vs Olympiacos tie?

    What did Messi take during Barca vs Olympiacos tie?

     

    What did Barcelona’s goal monger Lionel Messi take in a jiffy in the 10th minute of the club’s Champions league match against Olympiacos Wednesday night? Was it glucose tablet? You may not have noticed, but some did and those who did are wondering what it was while those who did not are asking those who saw what they saw.

    Messi hit the headlines on Wednesday night when his 100th European goal helped Barcelona beat Olympiacos 3-1 in the Champions League.

    His free-kick in the 61st minute doubled Barca’s lead and sent them on their way to a third win out of three in Group D, despite the sending off of Gerard Pique before half-time.

    But there was a moment in the first-half which escaped the attentions of all but the most observant of viewers which has sparked some debate.

    In the 10th minute of the game the Argentine appeared to take something from his sock and put it in his mouth, but it was impossible to tell what it was from the TV cameras.

    But Spanish paper Sport believe they have got to the bottom of the mystery.

    They report that a Catalunya Radio journalist claimed the object was a glucose tablet.

    He claims it was the best time to take the tablet as ‘before the first 15 minutes of physical effort is when the muscles are most receptive’.

    It is usual for athletes to take these tablets, but rarely is it seen during the game, instead they are often take them after the warm-up and before the game.

    It clearly worked for the 30-year-old as he steered Barcelona towards another win at the Nou Camp.

    Though it was his 100th in European competition, it only took his Champions League total to 97, as he has scored three times in the Super Cup. It took Messi just 122 games to reach his ton.