Live Match Chat: FC Barcelona - Malaga CF

(original post by OmarX)

FC Barcelona - Málaga CF
(Sunday 22 March 2009 @ 19:00 barcelona time)

Chat Link:
http://fcbarcelona.hopto.org/

Chat starts around 17:00 - 5:00 pm


Have you ever sat infront of your TV or computer while you were watching a FC Barcelona game and hoped you could share your excitement, feelings, and opinions with other fans LIVE as it happens?

We are proud to present you the new FC Barcelona Match Chat. Now you will be able to communicate before, during and after the match. The chat will be available from two hours before until two hours after the match. In the future this could turn into a 24/7 chat.

The chat is designed to be very user friendly and just requires you to enter your desired nickname and join (no registration required!). It is open to everyone, therefore make sure to invite your friends and spread the message. If you encounter any troubles or difficulties please put them here in the comments section or contact omarx in the chatroom.


To make all this work, we're setting up a moderator's system. Until that's in place, please keep in mind the following basic rules:

- on the public chat the main language is English

- you can hold private conversations by using the appropriate button you find below at the right of your screen
(mark the person you want to have a private talk with and click the button)

See you there!

Pique not in Malaga list

Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola announced earlier today a list of 21 players for the 28th league game against Málaga this evening at 7:00 pm.

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

Piqué is not available because of a fever attack, that got worse overnight. Barcelona Atlètic player Botía is called-up to replace him in the squad. Puyol, Abidal and Milito are injured. Three players will have to fall off this list.

Barcelona held a last training session this morning. The team had lunch together and afterwards they have the afternoon off. The players are expected back at the Camp Nou at 5:15 pm, one hour and three quarters before the start of the game.

Guardiola unhappy with transfer rumours

Asked about the rumours on players leaving or joining the club, Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola has asked the journalists at a press conference to have more respect for the players:

"You don't know whom we've contacted or how the negotiations are going. I know that, Txiki knows that. Because that's our job and this doesn't end here, there's another season after this one.

You are saying things that aren't true. You say that we have talked with players and agents while we didn't talk with players and agents. That's were you make a mistake. I would like to see more respect, for example for Samuel Eto'o who is here for many years and has scored many goals and now there are only rumours about possible substitutes.

I'll decide at the end of the season what will happen, together with Txiki. I will decide, not you. And at the end of the season, so you cannot know it already. It's a lack of respect towards a player who has already given so much to this club. Now the forward line for next season is already revealed. Which would mean we shouldn't worry too much about the tie with Bayern. If we already signed Ribéry, I'm sure he won't make it too hard for us.

There are seasons where the team is doing bad and isn't competing for the trophies anymore and then I would understand it better, but that's not the case now. I don't understand it, but we cannot control what is being published. We have to live with it and Eto'o will continue to score."

Read more:
Villa first option to replace Eto'o
Torres not thinking about leaving Liverpool
First contacts with Ibrahimovic

[2008] The Poulsen problem

this post was published exactly one year ago:


Catalan sports paper Sport reports that the negotiations with Sevilla on the transfer fee that Barcelona will have to pay for Sevilla midfielder Christian Poulsen (28) could get complicated because of the tense relationship between Sevilla president José María del Nido and Turkish player's agent Bayram Tutumlu. Barcelona would like to lower the buyout clause of 10 million euro.

Tutumlu, who resides in Barcelona, acted as go-between during the negotiations between Barcelona and Poulsen. Together with the Danish lawyer Jorn Bonnesen, he closed the deal with Barcelona (read more here). Another player who is advised by Tutumlu, Fiorentina defender Tomas Ujfalusi would now have signed for Atlético Madrid, while he already had an agreement with Sevilla. Before the Champions League game in the beginning of March, Del Nido and Tutumlu were caught by television camera's holding an agitated conversation. Tutumlu is no longer welcome in Sevilla.

Earlier this season, Tutumlu, who is also the agent of Getafe manager Michael Laudrup and who acted as go-between in the transfer of manager Ronald Koeman from PSV Eindhoven to Valencia last October, had a unpleasant dispute with Real Madrid sports director Pedrag Mijatovic before the league game Sevilla-Real Madrid. This incident was also captured by television camera's (see the incident here). Madrid would also be interested in signing Christian Poulsen.

Meanwhile, Spanish news site El Confidencial claims that the relations between Bayram Tutumlu and Christian Poulsen, who was brought to Sevilla with the help of the Turk, would have deteriorated cause Tutumlu would talk too much without the consent of the player. The player would have refused to meet with the Turkish agent earlier this month.

(read more on the Poulsen transfer story here)


Read more 22 March 2008 news:
Barcelona president wants to retire with Rijkaard
Youth: Jonathan Dos Santos

Manchester City moving to bring in Henry

British tabloid News of the World claims that Manchester City has made Barcelona forward and French international Thierry Henry (31) their top target for the summer (read more here).

Manchester City CEO Garry Cook would have made the first step this week by contacting player's agent Pini Zahavi and asking him to set up a deal in time for next season.

The English Premier League club wants a big name in their squad to attract other star players as they attempt to become a world top club and Henry could be available without paying anything like the record fee talked about for Kaká.

Henry is thought to be keen on returning to England and the move would become increasingly likely if Barcelona fulfils this season the Frenchman’s lifelong ambition of winning the Uefa Champions League.

With Manchester City planning to bring in six top names this summer, Barcelona would have two other players who could interest the English club: Barcelona defensive midfielder and Ivory Coast international Yaya Touré (25) (read more here) and Barcelona forward and Cameroonian international Samuel Eto'o (28) (read more here).

Read more:
Manchester City prepares summer bid for Toure
Messi and Eto'o on Manchester City wish list
Manchester City preparing summer bid for Henry