Striker Thierry Henry won the praise of Barcelona president Joan Laporta following his goal in the side's 2-0 win against Almeria.
The France international has struggled to find his best form since moving to Spain from Arsenal in a £16million transfer during the summer.
However, following his first goal in five matches and a penalty from Lionel Messi, Laporta led the support for Henry.
He said: "I'm very happy; it's so important for his self-confidence that he scored."
Team-mate Xavi added: "We searched for a lot today, and we found a lot, and [Henry] had a good match."
Meanwhile, coach Frank Rijkaard admitted that Barca were not at their best in the match, but was pleased to pick up maximum points.
28 October 2007
Manchester City are set to hold talks with Nigerian starlet Macauley Chrisantus next week.
The 17-year-old striker was one of the stars of the recent World Under 17 championship as he helped Nigeria seal the title.
Christantus is currently plying his trade in his homeland with Abuja but a move to England could soon be sealed.
The youngster's agent, Adam Mohammed, confirmed that he and the player are set to hold talks with Sven Goran Eriksson.
"I can confirm Sven has written inviting myself and the boy for a discussion and we will be in England next week to conclude talks," he told the News of the World.
Mohammed admitted that an application for a work permit could be a stumbling block, but he voiced his optimism that one would be granted second time round.
"But there may be a snag with the issue of a work permit," he added.
"However, if it is refused first time we will get it second time if the club appeals."
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, Internazionale and Milan are also reportedly keen to snap up the youngster, but it appears that City have won the race to secure Chrisantus' services.
Meanwhile, Eriksson has called on striker Georgios Samaras to utilise his strengths, which he believes are his ability to be a powerful target man.
"Georgios has to decide what type of players he wants to be. He shouldn't be doing lots of tricks; he should be using his physical power. For me he is a central striker - and a good one," Eriksson told the News of the World.
"There is a big difference between the Samaras that I see now and the one I saw when I arrived in July. He could have gone in the summer but said he wanted to fight for his place and I'm happy that he did."
28 October 2007
Harry Redknapp could celebrate his new Portsmouth contract by signing out-of-favour striker Eidur Gudjohnsen from Barcelona.
Portsmouth are on Monday expected to announce that Redknapp has agreed a new £7million, three-and-a-half-year contract at Fratton Park - and one of his first moves will be to instruct club officials to beat Manchester City in the race for Gudjohnsen.
Barca director of football Txiki Beguiristain admitted only last week that he had made a mistake signing the Iceland international because of the emergence of some of his club's youngsters.
He said: "Eidur still believes he has a chance here but at the moment the coaches are giving more time to Giovani and Bojan Krkic."
Redknapp was touted as a potential successor to Martin Jol at Tottenham but Pompey have moved to ward off any potential future interest by offering him a bumper pay packet.
25 October 2007
Former Brazil striker Romario made his coaching debut on Wednesday but was unable to stop Vasco da Gama being knocked out of the Copa Sudamericana.
Vasco, with Romario taking a player-coaching role on an interim basis, beat Mexico's America 1-0 in the quarter-final second leg but went out 2-1 on aggregate.
The former Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven player was appointed on Monday after Celso Roth became the second coach this year to be fired by the club.
Romario, 41, brought himself on as a second half substitute for his first game in four months and wasted a chance to level the aggregate scores when he mis-timed a free header.
Leandro Amaral gave Vasco a 10th-minute lead following a corner but despite creating a wealth of chances, the Brazilians were unable to find a second goal.
America goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa made a superb save to deny Alan Kardec before halftime, while Luizao headed against the crossbar and the Mexicans cleared two balls off the line.
Brazil's interest in the tournament ended in Bogota where Sao Paulo were knocked out by Colombia's Millonarios, who won 2-0 to complete a surprise 3-0 aggregate win.
Despite struggling in the Colombian league, Millonarios dominated the game against the Brazilian champions and championship leaders.
Two late goals from captain Ricardo Ciciliano gave Millonarios victory on the night.
In the 77th minute, the shaven-headed striker met a cross with a first-time shot which found the bottom left hand corner of Rogerio Ceni's goal.
Five minutes later, Millonarios broke out of defence and Ciciliano burst clear from the halfway line unchallenged before placing a low shot under Ceni.
24 October 2007
Barcelona striker Thierry Henry believes Rangers will go through to the knockout stages of the Champions League after they held the Spanish side to a goalless draw on Tuesday night.
As a result, Barcelona and Rangers top Group E at the half way stage, with seven points each.
The Scottish side were expected to struggle in the group that also includes German champions Stuttgart and French champions Lyon.
However, following wins in each of their first two games, and a draw against Barca, Rangers are in a strong position to qualify from the group.
It's an opinion shared by Thierry Henry.
"Why not?" said the Frenchman. "I don't know how the game is going to be at our place but I think Rangers have what it takes to also win in Stuttgart and the decisive game could be here against Lyon."
If Rangers beat Stuttgart later this month, they're likely to only need a draw from their home game with Lyon to advance to the knockout stage.
Henry explained: "If it goes like it is right now, Lyon would have to come here and win with a big scoreline. To be honest, although I am French, I don't see that happening here. You have to give Rangers credit. They fought very hard, they are top of the group with ourselves and they deserve to be where they are."
23 October 2007
Barcelona star Thierry Henry has claimed he would like to finish his brilliant career in the Major League Soccer.
Henry moved from Arsenal, where he made history, to Barcelona in the summer. The Frenchman has had a tough start to life with the Blaugrana, having scored a triple in eight games since his move to La Liga.
The 30-year-old has revealed that he does not plan to see out his career at Camp Nou, as he would be happy to play in the Major League Soccer, like former French world champion Youri Djorkaeff.
'I know that everybody knows how much I like the USA,' he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
'I would be very happy to play there but it is too early. I love American people, I also love their sports. I enjoy a lot watching NBA games and American football.'
23 October 2007
Rangers boss Walter Smith believes that if his side go into tonight's Champions league tie against Barcelona looking for a draw, they'll lose.
Rangers have enjoyed a bountiful return to the Champions League, getting maximum points from their first two games against Lyon and Stuttgart.
Scottish football and groups of death seem so intrinsically linked of late that it's little wonder that Barcelona completes the Group E line-up.
In form Rangers now face the Spanish giants at Ibrox, and although a draw would inch Walter Smith's side closer to qualification to the knockout stages, he feels that looking for a draw would be the wrong option.
"We don't go into it looking for a draw, I think that would be a dangerous thing with Barcelona," Smith told Sky Sports.
"It would imply that, in many ways, that you would have to do the majority of the defending and hope you get the draw. I don't think that should be the case against them because if we do that we will lose the game."
If Rangers are to do the unexpected, they'll have to do it Jean-Claude Darcheville and Brahim Hemdani for the fixture, and Smith accepts the duo will be missed.
The Gers boss added: "Both players have acquitted themselves really well in the games they've played so far in the Champions League. So it's a little blow that we've lost them as one or two of the players we are bringing in don't have that range of experience."
22 October 2007
Italy are dominating the Golden Ball list of 50 candidates with eight players, while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona each contributed seven names on the list.
- Golden Ball 2007 nominees:
Éric Abidal (Olympique Lyon, FC Barcelona)
Daniel Alves (FC Sevilla)
David Beckham (Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy)
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus Turin)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Petr Cech (Chelsea)
Rogerio Ceni (Sao Paulo)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Deco (FC Barcelona)
Mahamadou Diarra (Real Madrid)
Diego (Werder Bremen)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona)
Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Gennaro Gattuso (Milan)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal, FC Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)
Kaka (Milan)
Frederic Kanoute (FC Sevilla)
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen, Bayern Munchen)
Younis Mahmoud (Algharafa)
Paolo Maldini (Milan)
Florent Malouda (Olympique Lyon, Chelsea)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic Glasgow)
Guillermo Ochoa (America Mexico)
Andrea Pirlo (Milan),
Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto),
Raul (Real Madrid)
Franck Ribery (Olympique Marseille, Bayern Munchen),
Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors, Villarreal)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Clarence Seedorf (Milan)
Carlos Tevez (West Ham, Manchester United)
Luca Toni (Fiorentina, Bayern Munchen)
Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
Jose Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, Liverpool)
Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
David Villa (Valencia)
22 October 2007
Barcelona are facing an injury crisis and defender Eric Abidal admits they will need to somehow find a way to cope with the "physical" challenge posed by Rangers.
But Abidal insists the answer is not for manager Frank Rijkaard to push him forward to bulk up the midfield.
Left-back Abidal is fearing another costly defeat, having already been beaten twice on international duty by Scotland in the past 13 months.
"I have played against Scotland for France and we have lost twice," said the 28-year-old former Lyon player.
"They play very aggressive football, it is much more physical."
Barcelona have ruled playmaker Deco out for five weeks, striker Samuel Eto'o is still sidelined, and Yaya Toure, Gianluca Zambrotta, Edmilson and Rafael Marquez will also miss Tuesday's Champions League Group E clash.
They could be light in midfield, in terms of a ball-winner, but Abidal said: "I am a defender, not a midfielder. I am not used to playing in midfield. To be honest, it's not a position I fancy very much. There are players that can cover that area and it is up to the boss to decide which of us will have to do that."
Deco admits Barcelona's players, who visited Scotland on a pre-season tour and played matches against Dundee United and Hearts, may have pushed themselves too hard and paid the price.
He said on www.fcbarcelona.com: "I am no doctor but when we put in a lot of effort and play lots of games you reach the point where your body has hit its limit and that's when injuries occur."
22 October 2007
Rangers defender Carlos Cuellar has warned Barcelona they are "in for a shock" if they consider victory at Ibrox on Tuesday evening to be a formality.
The Catalan giants arrive in Glasgow later today ahead of the Champions League Group E clash.
They and Rangers both have 100% records after two games so far, and Madrid-born Cuellar is determined it will be Walter Smith's side, rather than the team coached by Frank Rijkaard, who preserve their winning run.
Cuellar told the Daily Record: "If Barca think they can just turn up here and win the game they are in for a shock because we are capable of giving them a tough night on Tuesday."
With their rich resources of talent, Cuellar accepts Barcelona will be a big threat to the home side whatever team they send out.
Deco is injured and out for five weeks, but Ronaldinho is expected to be involved despite being short of form lately, while Argentinian Lionel Messi can be unplayable for any defence.
Cuellar said: "Barca have 1,000 good points although we can win the game from our set-pieces and from counter attacks. I know how good they are, particularly Messi, but I still think we will beat them."
