Barcelona president denies Aguero interest

Asked about the rumours linking Atlético Madrid forward and Argentinian international Sergio 'Kun' Agüero (20) with Barcelona (read more here), Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said last week to journalists that Barcelona is not planning to move for the striker:

"Agüero is a very good player, but Barcelona has a balanced and deep squad. We're not thinking about new signings. I know that Guardiola is very happy with the squad he has at his disposal and that he has put together himself."

Read more:

Guardiola wants Aguero

Barcelona board considers Aguero transfer

Transfer of Aguero to Barcelona is unlikely

Barcelona's home-field advantage explained

American newspaper The New York Times had yesterday an interesting analysis of he home-field advantage in European football.

Unshakable Home-Field Advantage in Soccer World

Daniel Altman - New York Times

It is a busy time in the soccer world. The top teams in Europe and South America are playing multiple tournaments, Major League Soccer is heading for the playoffs, and hundreds of players are participating in qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. With their squads stretched thin, clubs are looking for any kind of edge. The biggest edge of all could be playing at home — but why?

The home-field advantage is more entrenched in soccer than in perhaps any other sport. To lose at home is viewed as an unacceptable result by fans; inferior teams must be beaten, and good teams must at least be tied. According to the statistics, those expectations are more realistic than one might think.

In the last seven seasons of the English Premier League, the average goal difference a game among teams playing at home was a positive number, 0.39. Those extra goals translated into more points in the standings, too. With 3 points for a win and 1 for a tie, teams garnered an average of 0.57 points more a game at home than on the road.

The home-field advantage is uniform across Europe’s top leagues. In La Liga in Spain, the edge was 0.37 goals and 0.58 points over the past seven years. In Serie A in Italy, it was 0.40 goals and 0.61 points.

Inside the individual leagues, however, there are some stark differences. Of the teams that played all seven seasons in the Premier League, four had by far the biggest home-field advantages: Fulham, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton. For each of those teams, playing at home was worth almost an entire extra goal, and 0.71 to 0.85 additional points.

It may not be too surprising that the top teams, like Manchester United and Chelsea, do not appear in this list. If a team wins all the time, on the road or at home, it has no home-field advantage. But Barcelona, the second-winningest club in Spain, holds one of the widest margins in La Liga — 0.70 additional points — at its legendary Camp Nou.

Indeed, some stadiums can create an intimidating atmosphere. Newcastle is known for its loyal supporters, thousands of whom wear their short-sleeved, black-and-white jerseys to matches even in the biting cold of the northern English winter. And perhaps most feared are fans of the Turkish team Galatasaray, with their tradition of hanging banners that read Welcome to Hell for the benefit of visitors to Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

You don’t need a big, intimidating stadium to have a big home advantage, however. Fulham’s Craven Cottage, in stylish southwest London, seats just 26,000 people — and the team spent two of the last seven seasons playing at Queens Park Rangers’ smaller Loftus Road ground while the Cottage was being expanded. Villarreal’s El Madrigal stadium, which at 0.74 points harbors the biggest home advantage in La Liga, has just 25,000 seats — more than half the population of the town of Villarreal. Compare that with 52,387 seats in Newcastle or 98,772 in Barcelona.

Read the full article here

Read more external articles:

An introduction to the coming stars

Where was Arshavin all those years?

Wenger critical about transfer market changes

International: Busquets scores in Spain debut

The Spanish u-21 national team lost yesterday with 2-1 against Switzerland.

Barcelona central defender Gerard Piqué (21), Barcelona defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets (20) and Barcelona forward Bojan (18) started the game. Barcelona wing attacker Pedro (21) got injured during training earlier this week (read more here).

Busquets, who made his international debut, scored the 0-1 in the 18th minute with a header out of a corner kick. The Catalan midfielder, who got booked for protesting, was replaced in the 67th minute. Piqué and Bojan played the whole match.

Barcelona Atlètic wing attacker Gai Assulin (17) played yesterday with the Israel u-21 team against Italy. The game ended with a scoreless draw. Gai was replaced in the 81st minute.

On Tuesday, the return games will be played. The winners of the ties qualify for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship that will take place in Sweden in June next year.

Barcelona puts price tag on Toure

Turin sports paper Tuttosport claims that Barcelona has put a price tag on Barcelona defensive midfielder and Ivory Coast international Yaya Touré (25), who should cost at least 10 million euro°.

Touré wants to leave and Barcelona could now have accepted to let the player go in the January transfer window. Juventus would be planning to make a bid, while Inter Milan, Olympique Lyon and an English Premier League club are also interested.

Asked about the rumours linking him with a winter move to Juventus (read more here), Touré has said to journalists that he cannot comment on the issue now.

Read more:
Touré considers transfer if he doesn't play more
Arsenal could launch Toure bid in January
Juventus offers Touré five-year contract

Barça B - Liga 8: Barcelona-Lleida 0-1

Miño

Córcoles
Joni (61 Nolito)
Victor Sánchez
Espasandín

Abraham
Xavi Torres
Longàs

Victor Vázquez
Maric
Rayo (71 Rueda)


14 Moya 0-1



yellow cards
Xavi Torres
Abraham

bench
Oier
Botía
Verdés

out of match squad
Fontàs

national team obligations
Gai

injured/ill
Solano
Jeffren
Thiago



Table
1. Villarreal B (7) 16
2. Lleida 15
3. Gavá (7) 14
4. Sant Andreu (7) 13
5. Badalona (7) 12
6. Denia (7) 11
7. Sabadell (7) 11
8. Valencia Mestalla 11
9. Alcoyano (7) 11
10. Ontinyent (7) 10
11. Orihuela (7) 9
12. Alzira (7) 9
13. Gramanet 9
14. Terrassa (7) 9
15. Santa Eulalia (7) 7
16. Eivissa (7) 7
17. Barcelona Atlètic 7
18. Benidorm (7) 6
19. Osasuna B (7) 6
20. Atlético Baleares (7) 4





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