Faux International Week!

[Updated version] Eight Barcelona players have been called up to play for their national sides in friendlies this week. Spain has called upon Puyol, Xavi, and Iniesta to play Italy and Zambrotta. I'm sure they'll slide in hard against each other. ...

A few tidbits and oh yeah, Messi is out

First, foremost, top of the list is Lionel Messi's injury. It's a hamstring injury that will keep him out for six weeks. Yes, we're through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League (hip! hip!) thanks to a 1-0 win over Celtic (hooray!), but we had to w

Barcelona - Sevilla: Copa del Rey 2nd leg

It's 1-1 and we've got to make a statement. It's more of a statement game than Murcia because, despite the 4-0 scoreline, it was Murcia and this is the UEFA Cup defending champ. This is the game where Frank can make up for all he seems to have lost over t

Barcelona: a statistical analysis of the defense

The question of Barcelona's defensive capabilities has been brought up before, in comments, and I'd like to take a moment or 10 to delve into the murky depths of statistical comparisons. Is Barcelona's defense better than it was last year? That is, in a w

Grass Roots Recruiting

By mid-November, transfer speculation is normally furious as newspapers wonder who will be entering and exiting the Stade de Gerland during the winter mercato. Last year, names like David Trezeguet, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and Nicolas Anelka were bandied abo

Samir Nasri back on French National Team...

Raymond Domenech gave his list of players that will play against Morocco and Ukraine a little later this month. The good news for Marseille is that Samir Nasri is back in. Neither Gaël Givet nor Djibril Cissé are in but that was predictable given our la

Press Conferences, Practice, and Whatnot

Less than 24 hours to go before what promises to be one of the most stressful 90 minutes of my life. I've already done a match overview in the last post, which you can read here. Both team practices went well, Lionel Messi having trained quite nor

Racing de Santander 0 - 0 Barcelona: Highlights and commentary

Naturally I didn't get to watch this game as it wasn't broadcast here in los estados unidos, but I did get to read some hot off-the-presses commentary in both the English and Spanish media and that was fantastic. I was planning on going to Nevada Smith's

Abidal Doesn't Have to Do Laundry Anymore

Now that Eric Abidal is safely ensconced at Barcelona, with no chance of ever returning to Lyon in the near future, he felt safe enough to share his initial thoughts of joining Barca and how different it is from Lyon. Here are some excerpts, but the entir

A Brief Study of Barcelona's Formations and Happy Anagrams: MIRTH, ZAP ME

There's little else Barcelona fans seem to be discussing these days and with a couple of requests to do so myself, I've decided to weigh in on the weightiest of issues: the roster. It's fat, it's probably not all that happy, and it's supposedly working ha

Gabriel Milito transfers to Barcelona!

Yay! Gaby Milito is going to sign with Barcelona! If you can read Spanish, here is Real Zaragoza's official announcement of the transfer. That's great news because we needed more defensive help and so far we've brought in Eric Abidal, Yaya Toure, and now

Forget Abidal, Lyon's Going for Fabio Grosso Now

I'm back from the dead, aka from that dreadful Wordpress bug that kept me out of action for a few days, but it's all better now. Let's get down to business! With Eric Abidal a blaugrana for sure, you knew Jean-Michel Aulas wouldn't sit around playing jack

Abidal is officially presented

Abidal became an official member of FC Barcelona after completing his medical and being presented as #22. And he looks badass in that picture.

Abidal Says Goodbye

In a surprise move, Lyon officially announced Eric Abidal's departure from the club the second he passed his medical at Camp Nou. I wouldn't be shocked to discover they had Abidal's departure announcement written up since last October. Here are the fi

Abidal is official; Barcelona heart spending $...er €

The word is out that the Abidal transfer is legit, so that's good news. Barcelona have agreed to a 14million euro ($18.8million, or like 3, maybe 4 British pounds) transfer fee and will reportedly pay Abidal 2million euros ($2.6million) a year. I've also

Fabio Capello fired, Bent is better than Thierry

The big news coming from the Spanish capital today is that Fabio Capello, who just led Real Madrid to the title, has been dismissed. This is wonderful news for everyone in La Liga and, I believe, opens the door to either Sevilla or Valencia winning the

Abidal signs with Barcelona

This may be a bit premature to announce as a certified fact, but according to 3 Spanish press sources (Marca, Sport, and most notably El Pais) an agreement has been reached and signed between Olympique Lyonnais and Barcelona over the transfer of left back

Eric Abidal is a Traitorous Bitch

I knew this was going to happen but was praying it wouldn't. Eric Abidal has threatened to pull an Essien (or Diarra, both apply) this summer. UNGRATEFUL JERK. After we bought you from Lille when you were a nobody, paid €10m for you (in thos

Latest Transfer Humors

The "June 30th" deadline is fast approaching, which is when Lyon are supposed to be finished with their mercato. So here's the latest in Lyon transfer funnies. OUTGOING: * Both Chelsea and Liverpool have submitted offers for Florent Malouda

Juventus Offer Player+Cash for Tiago

Never doubt the negotiating powers of Jean-Michel Aulas. Only he could possibly sell Tiago for €20million. I briefly talked about this yesterday, but now that details have leaked out, we can decide if Juve should be shown the door the way Barcelona

LYONOPOLY

Game time!!! Because I'm bored, here are the latest rumors compressed into a game of monopoly. Participants: Lyon, Barcelona, Liverpool, Juventus, Chelsea, Lille, Milan, Werder Bremen, and Bayern Munich Purpose: To get to the Champions League fin

Crapello Likes Abidal

Is Barcelona on Crack?

Three years ago, Lyon purchased Eric Abidal from Lille for a fee of €8.5million. Three days ago, Barcelona submitted a €9million offer to Lyon for Abidal. Were Barcelona's directors smoking something when they submitted their offer? If that's

The Latest Transfer Nonsense, Part XXIV

And now for your pleasure, the latest (mis)information published by the French media. DEPARTURES * Just when we thought that Florent Malouda would not be walking alone, suddenly Liverpool's direct competitors start fueling the fires. Chelse

Abidoula Want to Leave. For Real This Time.

Lyon's left side is hemorrhaging. One of Europe's most envied partnerships, affectionately known as Abidoula, is about to be broken up and sold to different clubs. We all knew that Eric Abidal was leaving, but Florent Malouda's wishy-washy attitude ab

A Few Quick Fixes to Keep up with the Rumours

- Real Madrid totally digs Samir Nasri, so much that they've made the trek to see him play a few times this season. In other news, the sky is blue. -Lille OSC's disappointing season has not been enough to shoo their players away. Three regulars, Tony S

Barcelona Play Mind Games with Lyon, More Rumors

Because everything that the press says must be true, here is today's daily dose of transfer news for you to cry over. Apparently, taking Eric Abidal isn't enough for Frank Rijkaard. He also wants to add Tiago to his list of Barca's transfer targets. T

Lyon eyeing £6M Saha

WTF???? According to the Daily Express, Lyon have offered six million pounds for Manchester United striker reject Louis Saha. That's a bit too much for someone who has a long history of injury problems. Six million euros I could live with, but not

Mass Exodus out of Lyon?

So on the heels of another "failed" season, transfer speculation is in full bloom. And as usual, nearly all of Lyon's squad has been linked with other clubs. Lyon's happy family...on the brink of divorce? The two highest profile