Guardiola : “We played a serious game”

www.fcbarcelona.cat

The Barça coach was positive about the way his team played in their preseason opener in Split. He liked the second half more than the first.

Pep Guardiola is pleased with what he saw in Split. His players performed well (0-0) away to Hajduk. “We have not had a long time to work together and we took youth players … so it was good, I’m happy. We played a serious game.” He added that the debut had served “to put some ideas forward and get some kilometres under our legs”.

Guardiola also admitted that “the second half was better than the first” and that he was “satisfied with the players that debuted”. 

Iniesta and Fontàs also spoke to the media :

Iniesta :

“Alexis is a great player, Strong and fast. I hope he feels good and comfortable”.

“We’re sad Bojan is leaving because he’s a good friend”. 

Fontàs :

“It was hard, we’ve only been training a week, but we played a good game”. 

“With the fans shouting it makes no difference if you are more concentrated”. 

“I am very happy with my first game as a first team player”. 

“I don’t feel responsibility, I feel excitement, work, sacrifice and the need to help the team as much as I can”.

fans-fcb.blogspot.com || 449 goals scored with Guardiola on the bench

David Puig

Barça have scored 449 goals since Josep Guardiola became manager. Since the 08/09 season, 29 different players have been on target. Leo Messi, with 138 goals, is the top scorer of the last three seasons.

Eto’o and Henry top former players

Of the players that played under Guardiola but have since moved on, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry were the top scorers. The Cameroonian scored 36 goals in his only year with Guardiola. Henry got 30 goals, 26 in 2008/9 and four in 2009/10.

Messi tops the ranking

Barça have been a goalscoring machine since Guardiola has been in charge. Almost everybody has contributed to that amazing tally of 449 goals in 183 games, but nobody more so than Leo Messi, who has scored 138 goals, 53 last season, to mark a constant improvement since the 2008/09 season, when he got 38 goals, and then got 47 year after, six fewer than the season just ended. 

Pedro, Bojan and Villa share 110 goals 

One of Guardiola’s finest discoveries, Pedro Rodríguez, is the second highest Barcelona scorer since 2008 with 45 goals. He is followed by Bojan Krkic, who has the best goals per minutes played record of the last three years, having totalled 29 goals. 

Last season’s new signing, David Villa, has already moved up to fourth out of the current players and sixth overall under Guardiola, with 23 goals. 

Xavi tops midfield goals, and Alves leads the defence 

But it is not just the strikers that score in this team. Under Guardiola, midfielders and defenders have scored 109 goals, with Xavi leading the midfielders, with 22 goals, followed by Keita, with 18. 

The top scoring defender is Alves with 13, followed by Piqué, who has 11. 

Young guns 

Of the youngsters from Barça B that have appeared under Josep Guardiola, five have scored a total of 8 goals. Thiago is the most inspired with 4, while Nolito, Fontàs, Víctor Vàzquez and Bartra have shared the other four.

fans-fcb.blogspot.com || Guardiola's Barça break barriers

Edgar Fornós

This season, in addition to continuing to fill the cabinet with more trophies, has served to break down some barriers that until now had been insurmountable for this Barça team. Winning at grounds like Espanyol or Valencia are two examples.

The trophies keep coming to fill the museum's showcases. Records and stratospheric statistics that this team achieve now fill the pages of the history of football and this year, in addition, Guardiola’s players have overcome the challenges that had resisted them until now: 

            First wins at certain grounds

The stadiums of Espanyol, Athletico Madrid and Valencia had given up poor results up to last season in the league. At Athletico Madrid, Barça had suffered two defeats (4-3) and (2-1). In Espanyol's new stadium they had only been capable of drawing 0-0, and at Valencia they didn’t do better than draw 2-2 and 0-0 in the first two seasons. In the year 2010/11 Guardiola’s team won at all 3 grounds. 

            Unbeaten in the group stages

Four wins against Rubin, Copenhagen, and Panathinaikos twice, and two draws against Copenhagen and Rubin away were the results achieved in the group stage of the Champions League. In previous years they had lost one game in each of the same stages, against Shakhtar and Rubin Kazan.

            Away wins in knockout phase

Despite having won the Champions League in 2008/2009 and 2010/2011, and have reached the semi-final in 2009/2010, oddly enough they had never won an game away in the knockout phase. This year, they finally broke the curse at Shakhtar in the quarter-finals, which Barça won 1-0. 

            Messi has now scored against Mourinho and in England

The 53 goals scored by Leo Messi this season have meant a lot, above all for scoring against a team led by Mourinho, and also for scoring in England for the first time in his career. Against Moorinho’s Madrid he scored 3 times, 1 in the League and 2 in the Champions League, and an English soil he scored goal in the legendary Wembley Stadium.