FC Barcelona is one of the best known football teams in the world thanks to its stunning displays of top class soccer action and with players such as Lionel Messi, demand for Barcelona football tickets at the Nou Camp is always high.
Barça’s stadium was constructed in 1957 and holds nearly 99,000 spectators making it the largest stadium in Europe and tenth in the world. While the stadium can seem empty when playing some less well known clubs, when it is full the roar of the crowd really charges the stadium with an atmosphere so electric it almost crackles.
Barcelona’s ticketing policy allows season ticket holders to sell their tickets back to the club for resale, but it means that it is often difficult to obtain tickets seated next to each other direct from the club. However, a variety of agencies have guaranteed allocations from the club that are provided in continuous blocks.
The Nou Camp is actually called “Camp Nou”, which means New Field in Catalan. Built between 1954 and 1957, the first match was played against a Warsaw selection in September 1957 which FC Barcelona won 4-2. Current remodelling plans include 13,500 more seats to make the Nou Camp the largest football stadium in the world, adding cover for at least 50 percent of seats improving its external appearance.
It also has a popular museum, which opened in 1984, and is claimed to be the most popular in Barcelona with 1.2 million visitors each year.
More information: Barcelona Football Tickets
Thierry Henry is to depart FC Barcelona as widely expected, after signing to the Red Bulls in the United States.
“This marks an exciting new chapter in my career and life,” Henry said in the Red Bulls’ release. “It is an honor to play for the New York Red Bulls. I am fully aware of the team’s history and my sole goal during my time here is to help win the club its first championship. Knowing Red Bull’s significant commitment to soccer locally and internationally, I am confident that my teammates and I will succeed.”
Henry was responsible for the unpunished handball that allowed France to go through to the World Cup in South Africa instead of Ireland, although the French national squad performed poorly in all respects.
Read “Red Bulls Make Henry Signing Official” at The New York Times
Pep Guardiola has finally signed an extension to his contract that will see him remaining as Barça coach until at least 2011. The FCB website notes:
“Josep Guardiola officially secured his future at FC Barcelona on Wednesday when he signed for another season as coach of the first team along with assistant Tito Vilanova.”
New club president Sandro Rosell has announced via the FC Barcelona website that the club has come to a verbal agreement to extend his contract by two years with the option for a third.
“We’ve reached a verbal agreement and now the vice-president for sport and Pep’s lawyer are sorting out the final details”.
Read ‘Rosell: “We’ve reached a verbal agreement with Pep”‘ on the FC Barcelona website
An article in The New York Times argues that the Spanish selection has two sides to it; a good side, typified by Xavi and David Villa, while Joan Capdevila and Fernando Torres represent the dark side in getting members of the opposite team sent off unfairly.
Comparing today’s Spanish squad with the 2002 Brazilian team the article says:
“Like Spain, that team had players who were happy to seek free kicks at the slightest sign of interference, as Rivaldo infamously did in a group game against Turkey. Maybe Spain has surmised that to win a World Cup, you need a full array of the footballing arts, including some of its dark ones; the truth is hidden somewhere behind Vicente del Bosque’s Great Barrier Reef of a moustache, and it isn’t emerging anytime soon. What we can reliably say is that the Spanish, with their careful manipulation of both ball and referee, are in the World Cup quarterfinals.”
Read “Noble Spanish Are Also Masters of Game’s Dark Arts” at The New York Times
Anyone watching the match between Spain and Portugal may have been forgiven that they had tuned in for a match at the Nou Camp, with no less than six FC Barcelona players on pitch for the Spanish squad:
Gerard Pique
Carles Puyol
Andres Iniesta
David Villa
Xavi
Sergio Busquets
At times the play looked very like Barça, which should mean that Barça’s new signing, David Villa, has already settled into the style of his new team mates.
“The longer the game went on, the more possession Spain seemed to have. Pass, pass, pass. Yet Portugal’s defence – unbreached in the group stage, even against Brazil – was a securely closed door. Secure that is until Andres Iniesta and Xavi unpicked the lock with quick and precise passing to send David Villa one one one with Eduardo.”
Read Match Review & Highlights: Spain 1-0 Portugal at World Cup Blog
And like Barça, the Spanish squad absolutely dominated possession of the ball, with Cristiano Ronaldo hardly getting a touch. While that possession didn’t translate into a huge goal tally – like sometimes happens with Barça – at least the football was good to watch, unlike that of some of the teams – England anybody?
Portugal’s defence pretty much stopped Spain from scoring more goals, but for most of the match it looked like defending was all they could do. Spain’s next match is against Paraguay in the quarter-finals on July 3rd. They’re looking good to make the semis.
According to a Reuters article, Thierry Henry and Touré Yaya are to leave FC Barcelona. Henry agreed to the transfer before heading off to South Africa and France’s early exit from the competition – it was Henry’s unpunished handball against Ireland that put France through – and was widely expected owing to his lack of on pitch performance, which has seem him sit most matches out.
“Now it is up to him to complete it,” Barca director Joan Oliver said on the club website (www.fcbarcelona.com) after the last board meeting under outgoing president Joan Laporta This will allow Barca to save money on his wages in the next financial year.”
And it is understood that Touré Yaya requested a transfer; Barça has been negotiating with Man City over and move there.
If you’re looking for FC Barcelona’s schedule for 2010/11 then you don’t have much longer to wait.
The Spanish League – La Liga – is normally drawn mid-July when we’ll know who FC Barcelona will be playing during the next season.
We don’t currently know the exact date but if you want to receive an email as soon and dates are prices are known, you can sign up for the Simply Barcelona Tickets newsletter. It’s completely free and will keep you up to date with Barça.
FC Barcelona is planning on signing Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano, two of Liverpool’s brightest stars, according to an article in the Bleacher report. The article states:
“Barcelona have decided they, too, want to bring in a huge number of amazing players to match up what Real Madrid did last year with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. The Catalan side is in negotiations with Manchester City to sell off midfielder Yaya Toure for a value of €30 million, which they hope to use in signing his replacement.”
Read Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano Targeted by FC Barcelona on Bleacher Report
Sandro Rosell is the new club president after picking up 61% of the votes in yesterday’s election.
He was the club vice-president between 2003 and 2005, when he spectacularly fell out with friend and club president Joan Laporta and resigned. Since then he has been taking pot shots at Laporta over the direction of the club and it was no surprise to anyone to learn he was a candidate.
Possibly his largest contribution under Laporta was to bring Ronaldinho to the club; but he was also responsible for the sponsorship of Nike, for whom he worked as the head of the South American operation.
His first job will be to sign Pep Guardiola, and there are also rumours that he has been having talks behind the scenes with Cesc Fabregas.
