Barça B - Official: Maric to Norwich

English third division club Norwich has yesterday officially announced the transfer of former Barcelona Atlètic forward Goran Maric (25).

Maric, who had before played two years at the Barcelona youth academy between 1999 and 2001, joined Barcelona B last year, arriving from Celta Vigo B. Barcelona had announced last month that the contract of the Serbian stiker expired and wouldn't be renewed (read more here).

Read more:
Barça B - Official: Abraham to Cadiz
Barça B: Maric on trial at Crystal Palace
Barça B - Official: Botia to Sporting on loan

Barça B: Maric on trial at Crystal Palace

Former Barcelona Atlètic forward Goran Maric (25) is at this moment on trial with English second division club Crystal Palace.

Maric yesterday scored the opening goal in a pre-season friendly with the English club against Boreham Wood.

Last month, it was announced that Maric would leave Barcelona as his contract expired and wouldn't be renewed (read more here).

Read more:
Barça B - Official: Maric and Joni will leave
Barça B - Official: Corcoles to Recreativo
Barça B: Serbia thinking about Maric

Barça B - Official: Maric and Joni will leave

Barcelona has yesterday officially announced that Barcelona Atlètic central and left back defender Joni (22) and Barcelona Atlètic forward Goran Maric (25 - picture) will leave the club this summer.

The contracts of the players, who both were signed last summer (read more here and here), expired this month since Maric had a one-year deal and Joni was loaned from Spanish first division club Sporting.

Read more:
Barça B - Official: Abraham to Cadiz
Barça B: Serbia thinking about Maric
Barça B: Xavi Torres will join Malaga

Calm training week in Barcelona

Due to the international matchs coming up in the next days, few first team players were present in Barcelona to take part in the training sessions.

On Tuesday, nine players (Valdés, Jorquera, Pinto, Márquez, Gudjohnsen, Sylvinho, Bojan, Pedro and Víctor Sánchez) trained together with Barcelona Atlètic.

On Wednesday, seven players (Valdés, Jorquera, Pinto, Márquez, Gudjohnsen, Sylvinho and Bojan) trained with three Barcelona Atlètic players (Gai, Solano and Rayo) and four Juvenil players (Muniesa, Dos Santos, Rochina and Bolaños). Pedro and Victor Sánchez played that day a game with Barcelona Atlètic.

On Thuesday, six players (Valdés, Jorquera, Pinto, Márquez, Sylvinho and Bojan) trained with six Barcelona Atlètic players (Nolito, Verdés, Maric, Rayo, Gai and Solano) and two Juvenil players (Romeu and Rochina). Gudjohnsen didn't take part because of stomach problems. The next training session is only planned for Tuesday.

In the meantime, the injured players (Milito, Abidal, Puyol and Iniesta) continued their recovery, while Touré travelled to Ivory Coast where the medical staff of the national team performed some medical tests. The defensive midfielder is expected back in Barcelona tomorrow.

Nineteen men included in Lyon list

Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola announced earlier today that 19 players are called-up for the first leg of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League against Olympique Lyon on Tuesday at 8:45 pm.

The list:
Valdés, Pinto,
Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Márquez, Cáceres, Sylvinho,
Xavi, Víctor Sánchez, Touré, Busquets, Keita, Gudjohsen,
Messi, Eto'o, Bojan, Henry, Hleb


Milito, Iniesta and Abidal are injured. Jorquera and Pedro are not included. The final list of 18 players will be announced later. The team has trained this morning and will travel to Lyon tomorrow. Barcelona Atlètic players Verdés, Nolito, Rayo, Abraham, Maric took part in today's training session.

Suspended Marquez and Pique not in Sporting list

Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola announced yesterday that all available players are called-up for the 22nd game of the Spanish league against Sporting Gijón this evening at 7:00 pm.

The list:
Valdés, Pinto, Jorquera,
Alves, Puyol, Cáceres, Abidal, Sylvinho,
Xavi, Touré, Busquets, Keita, Gudjohsen, Víctor Sánchez,
Messi, Eto'o, Bojan, Henry, Iniesta, Pedro, Hleb


Márquez and Piqué are suspended because of a red card last week. Puyol returns from an injury after receiving the green light yesterday. Keita is apparently also again available. Pedro and Víctor Sánchez will not play with Barcelona Atlètic this weekenf. Milito is still recovering from an injury. The final list of 18 players will be announced later today.

On Friday, Barcelona Atlètic players Botía, Córcoles, Abraham and Jeffren trained with the first team. On Monday, Maric, Nolito, Abraham, Longas, Rayo, Rueda and Benja joined the training session.

Barcelona had a last training session this morning. After they will have a lunch together, the players don't have the afternoon off this time but will stay at the NH Constanza hotel until they will return at 6 pm to the Camp Nou for the game.

Barça B: Maric wants to leave in January

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona Atlètic forward Goran Maric (24) wants to leave the club and has informed Barcelona Atlètic coach Luis Enrique about his wish.

The Serbian striker is disappointed by the lack of playing time in recent weeks and would want to join another club in January if he receives a good offer.

Besides offers from several Spanish second and third division clubs, there would also be interest from abroad, especially from Greece, for Maric, who played for Celta Vigo B in the Spanish third division last year.

Maric, who last season was the top goal scorer of the Spanish third division, signed a one-year contract with Barcelona in August, preferring Barcelona Atlètic over several Spanish second ddivision clubs (read more here).

Read more:
Barça B: Serbia thinking about Maric
Barça B - Official: Maric
Barça B: Goran Maric (Celta Vigo B)

Barça B: Serbia thinking about Maric

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Barcelona Atlètic forward Goran Maric (24) could be called-up for the Serbian national team.

Serbian national team coach Radomir Antic would have met with Maric and his entourage a few days ago to inform him that he is following the striker and to ask about his situation.

Antic, who still knows Maric from his time as Celta Vigo coach when Maric was one of the promising talents of the Celta youth academy, could possibly come and watch a game of the Barcelona B team and will anyhow follow the performances of the Serbian forward during this season closely.

Read more:
Barça B - Official: Maric
Ex-Barça: Antic to Serbia
Youth: Anselmo called-up for Equatorial Guinea

Five B players take part in training

Barcelona returned to training yesterday, with Alexander Hleb normally taking part in the exercises.

Because only six first team players were available, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola called five players from Barcelona Atlètic to join the training session:

goalkeeper Oier (19 - first picture, third from the tight), central defender Verdés (24 - first picture, on the right), midfielders Fontàs (19 - first picture, fourth from the left) and Rueda (21 - second picture, on the left) and forward Nolito (21 - first picture, second from the right)

Today five other players joined the session:

midfielder Longás (24), centre forward Maric (24), defensive midfielder Xavi Torres (21), attacker Víctor Vázquez (21) and midfielder Abraham (23)

Rafael Márquez, Samuel Eto'o, Seydou Keita and Touré Yaya, who don't have to play with their national team on Wednesday, are expected to take part in the Tuesday afternoon training session.

B players keep on training with first team

While the internationals are coming back from their trips abroads, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola kept on calling players from Barcelona Atlètic to join the training sessions over the past days.

On Wednesday, seven B players were invited over: right back defender Córcoles (23), left back defender Espasandín (23), midfielders Longás (24), Busquets (20) and Thiago (17) and forwards Nolito (21) and Maric (24). Yesterday and today, only Busquets remained with the senior squad.

Barça B: Five B players train with first team

Because only five first team players were available today (Alves, Valdés, Pinto, Sylvinho and Víctor Sánchez), Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola called five players from Barcelona Atlètic to join the training session:

Víctor Vázquez (21 - first picture, centre right), Córcoles (23 - first picture, centre left), Xavi Torres (21 - first picture, left), Longás (24 - second picture, centre) and Maric (24 - second picture, left)

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Barça B - Official: Maric

Barcelona has yesterday officially announced the transfer of Celta Vigo B forward Goran Maric (24), who will play with Barcelona Atlètic in the third division next season.

Maric, who played for Celta Vigo B in the Spanish third division last season, has signed a one-year contract.

The Serbian striker is (after Rayo, Solano, Nolito, Verdes, Joni and Longás) the seventh signing of Barcelona Atlètic this summer (read more here).

Maric, who played two years at the Barcelona youth academy between 1999 and 2001, says in a first reaction to the club's official media, that he's happy to return to Barcelona: "Here and in Vigo I was formed as a football player and now I return so many years later trying to help Barcelona Atlètic obtain the highest. Besides, I will have the chance to work with Luis Enrique, who had been very imortant for the club."

Although last season he was the top goal scorer of the Spanish third division, Maric, who also received offers from second division teams Alavés and Girona, promises hard work, modesty and sacrifice: "Although this seems logic, you don't get goals or results witthout those three values, so that's what I want to contribute to the team, as well as several years of experience in the third division. But of course I'm aware that the club has signed me to score goals."

Spanish second division club Celta Vigo has officially confirmed the transfer. The club has an option to buy Maric back before 30 May 2009.

Read the official announcements of the other transfers of Barcelona Atlètic:
Rayo - Solano - Nolito - Verdes - Joni - Longás

Read more:
Barça B: Goran Maric (Celta Vigo B)







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News of the day - Tuesday

This post will be updated throughout the day.


Guardiola had a meeting with Eto'o yesterday, Eto' will stay and play against Wisla (Sport)
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Guardiola and Eto'o had a positive meeting yesterday (Catalunya Ràdio)

Guardiola has decided that Eto will stay but the decision will be taken after a meeting between the manager and the player will have taken place, Eto'o will ask Guardiola and Txiki to be clear in their public statements about why they changed their view (Marca)
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Everything seems to indicate that Eto'o will stay although the entourage of the player is still not sure because Barcelona hasn't clearly confirmed it (As)

If Tottenham continues to keep Manchester United waiting on the Berbatov deal, manager Ferguson will turn his attention to Thiery Henry (Manchester Evening News)
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Henry has had no indication, either from his club Barcelona or from United, that Ferguson has an interest in him, Barcelona don't want to let him leave and sources close to the player indicate that he has no intention of joining United (The Independent)
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Barcelona will block Henry's move to Manchester by giving him playing time in the Champions League qualifier tomorrow (Daily Star)
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Barcelona will wait for the outcome of the meeting between Silva's agents and Valencia before moving for the player, Barcelona doesn't yet have an agreement with the player although Silva would accept an offer (As)

Valencia won't offer Silva what his agents have been asking although they will rise their initial offer (Marca)
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Valencia thinks Silva is willing to stay if he gets a decent pay rise and in any case the club won't negotiate an exit for less than 30 million euro (Las Provincias)
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Barcelona will make a first bid of 20 million euro (Super Deporte)
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Silva says he only wants to leave Valencia for Barcelona despite interest from the Premier League (Daily Star)
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Valencia president Soriano reaffirmed today that Silva will stay at the club and that Barcelona didn't yet make a formal offer

Silva's agent Julio Llorente says that the player will start the season with Valencia and would only consider to move to a Spanish club (Sky Sports)
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Barcelona contacted Jorge Mendes, the agent of Cristiano Ronaldo, to say they were interested in the player and Manchester United manager Ferguson told the player during a meeting a few weeks ago that he could leave for half the fee the club was asking from Real Madrid, but Ronaldo only wants to join Madrid (Marca)
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Crosas sees Barcelona as part of his past and is only thinking about Celtic despite the buy back clause (press conference)
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Guardiola has decided that Barcelona Atlètic players Jeffren, Pedro, Sergi Busquets, Víctor Vázquez and Víctor Sánchez will stay with the first team for now (official website)
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Getafe is also interested in Jeffren (Sport)
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Celta Vigo B forward and former Barcelona youth player Goran Maric (24) will join Barcelona Atlètic today, Celta had asked for Valiente or Pedrito in return but that doesn't go through (Sport)
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Barça B: Goran Maric (Celta Vigo B)

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that Celta Vigo B forward Goran Maric (24) is the first choice to replace Barcelona Atlètic forward Guerra, who left the club earlier this week (read more here). Maric, who is a former Barcelona youth player, was last season the top goal scorer of the Spanish third division.

While it was believed that Maric is on his way to second divison team Deportivo Alavés, Celta Vigo sports director Ramón Martínez would now have proposed Barcelona a swap deal including Maric and Barcelona Atlètic central defender Marc Valiente (21), who can leave Barcelona this summer (read more here).

Galicia regional newspaper El Faro de Vigo claims that Alavés is still the main option for Maric, who would already have agreed personal terms with the club but Celta doesn't want to let the Serbian striker go for for free.

Maric, who is doing the pre-season with the first team of Celta but who has to leave this summer, has said in a reaction to Galicia regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia that he prefers to play in the Spanish second division: "I want to play in the second division and the club knows about my wishes."

Read more:
Victor Sanchez and Pedro could join first team
Barça B - Official: Contract of Guerra cancelled
Barça B: Valiente to Panathinaikos