Hey Everyone...

So, it's been like a week or so since I've updated the blog, and it hasn't been the first lull since the relaunch... to be honest, I don't know how I thought I'd be able to keep up with this along with everything else I've got going on, especially what with university just starting. Basically what I'm saying is, I don't see how this blog can really be all I want it to be.

So it looks like I'm hitting an undefined hiatus again, BUT, I will continue to cover all things Barca from my twitter account. Links, pictures, news snippets and opinions, I'll be tweeting as much as I can and it won't be much different than what this blog would have covered, except that it'll be easier and faster than a daily blog, and I'll be able to offer you more that way. Anyone who hasn't joined twitter yet really should, there's so much more acess to so many things.

And I'll be back with a new blog or site sometime, I promise! Love to all.

Polls & A Little Break

Hey guys... just here to let everyone know that I'm going to take a few days off from the blog, in case you missed my tweet last night (I'll keep tweeting though) and to post the results of the summer poll: The Ibrahimovic Issue: It was close, but most were of the opinion that the club did well to sign him and he'd do better his next season; too bad he didn't see it that way.

The overdue Barca hottie poll for this season is now up (sidebar to the right): who do you think is the currently the finest boy on the team?

La Liga: FC Barcelona vs Athletico Madrid, Vicente Calderon, Sunday, September 19 2010, 19:00 CET

Returning in high-spirited triumph from their 5-1 trouncing of Panathinaikos in the Champions League, Barca now heads out to the Spanish capital to face Liga contenders Athletico Madrid, in a meet that's set to be anything but easy.

Barca hasn't had the best of luck on the Vicente Calderon in the past, not having been able to win a match there in years. Last season, the away match that Barca played against Atheltico Madrid was their only loss in the Liga; so that this time around, everyone's looking to break the curse and finally grab a win on said stadium.

Squad-wise, leftback Eric Abidal won't be travelling to Madrid with the team, having been excused to go and be with his dying grandfather on the Martinique island in the Caribbean. He is left out along with the injured Jeffren, while Pep takes along an 18-man squad composed of Valdés, Pinto, Maxwell, Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Milito, Adriano, Sergio, Mascherano, Xavi, Iniesta, Keita, Messi, Pedro, Villa and Bojan, as well as B-teamer Thiago Alcantara.

Andres Iniesta: GQ CoverBoy

I suck at updating lately, but bear with me, my beautiful readers, soon enough I'll get things back on track and routine-ness shall resume. Right now, here's another post of randoms:

- The picture you see here is, obviously, Andres Iniesta on the cover of this month's GQ España for their special on "Los Héroes de España", that also featured photos of David Villa and Cesc Fabregas. Barca coverboys ftw!

- David Villa recently recorded a song with Spanish singer Ana Torroja for the upcoming "Together for Mali" album, and he sounds pretty damn good. Who knew KingSoulPatch was harboring this talent behind all his blitzy baller skills? Following the release of the album on the 23rd of November, a concert is set for December 2nd - and I am dying to know if Villa would possibly attend and perform the song live.

- The basketballing counterpart of our club is to host the 'Basketball Without Borders' event, with Barca Regal also set to face U.S. b-ball stars the Los Angeles Lakers. The natural result of all this is for the NBA's vice president of international operations Kim Bohuny to present Lionel Messi with his very own customized Lakers Jersey, with Lio lamenting that he'll have to miss the Regal-Lakers match (set for October 7) because he'll be with his national team as they prepare to play a friendly against Japan.

- An ad featuring Barca coach Pep Guardiola is tactfully placed right in front of Real Madrid's stadium, the Santiago Bernabeu; meanwhile Barca player Adriano recently had his car stolen and returned.

- And to cap things off: Barcelona just beat out Turkish club Galatasaray as the club with the most fans on facebook, with over 4.5 million fans. Viva Barca!

Lio & Links

Hurried and harried, so I'll leave you with a few quick links:

- Lio Messi spent the past couple of days trotting around London on a PR stunt for Adidas that went horribly wrong. I don't see how they expected it to work out in the first place.

- Here's Gerard Pique 'not knowing what to say' about his status as the number one sizzling Catalan in the eastern or western hemisphere. Oh, he was also promoting his new book, Viatge d’anada i tornada.

- Pep Guardiola features in a new ad for Spanish bank Banco Sabadell, and needless to say he's fabulous in it. Now, if he ever showed up at my door like that...

- Barca's Adriano is on twitter, btw. That makes three tweeting Barca boys; get following chicas!

- Just because: Rafa Marquez graces New York Fashion Week with his sexy self. I'm missing him crazy.

- Going farther back with ex-Barca boys, remember Ludovic Guily? Of course you do. If you don't, this video will make sure you never forget him. Let me know if you're able to watch the whole thing through without cringing.

FC Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos

It's hard to believe that the Barca of last night is the same team that fell against Hercules on the weekend. Right now, Hercules seems like nothing but a distant, very hazy memory - that's what Barca can do to you with their brilliance.

From Lio Messi with his perky dashes in and around the penalty the box to Pique ambling down the pitch with his bandaged head, every last one of our players was totally there. All the bad positioning, blankness in front of goal and general slowness of the Hercules match had seemingly evaported, replaced with glorious movement and sharp finishing and beautiful passing. To think Villa only got offside once, and that in the begining of the match before the flow of things kicked in and then there was nothing short of perfection.

Barca managed a whopping 86% possession, and unlike the ball domination of the Hercules match this time it actually mattered. The unfortunate Greek side barely got a whiff of the ball, only getting a touch when defending (or trying to). Let's look at some more numbers: Barca had twenty-eight shots to Panathinaikos' one. Did you get that? Twenty-eight to one. Their one shot being the out-of-context goal Govou managed to grab off a counter-attack to open up the scoring; before Barca snatched back control and bombarded the opposition net with five of their own. Govou's name may be on the scoresheet, but his team's performance doesn't account for it. It was all Barca out there, from start to finish.

With the electric brilliance of Barca's game last night, that Panathinaikos should score first was utterly ridiculous - so much that our boys couldn't have the other team leading for more than a minute or two, not if Lionel Messi had anything to say about it. Who else to open up Barca's scoring but the marvel that is Lio? The goal came in the classic form of Xavi to Messi to net and it was game over for the Greeks from there. You could tell that Barca weren't done, not at all. They were just getting started.

Xavi was playing full-on playmaker, feeding chance after chance to our attack and it wasn't long before he set up Barca's second goal. His corner found Busquets ready to tap it on to Villa, and it was just too easy for KingSoulPatch to send the ball home and put Barca ahead.

Barca weren't going out of the half without having a firm grasp of their lead, and it was who else but Lio that made sure of that. He hit a few crossbars along the way before finally arriving at his second goal and Barca's third of the night, rendering us watching fans ecstatic.

While Messi and Villa took turns scoring, Pedro was struggling to get his name on the list as well. With each try from him it was more apparent how much he wanted it, and finally, as the second half kicked in, he found the net for the first time since last season, and I can only imagine what joy/relief that must have been for him. Lio Messi had had the chance to grab the fourth - and his third - before Pedro's goal, when he was awarded a penalty; but it was a rather sluggish shot on his part and the keeper bested him there.

Lio continued to push for a hattrick as the match drew to an end, but it was Dani Alves who capped off the night with Barca's fifth and final, in the very last minute of loss time. Converting a sharp header from Lio's assist, Dani took off on a victory run as the final whistle sounded amid the team's celebration, a perfect end to a perfect match.

This was rather reminiscent of the treble season, when Barca was regularly scoring five and six goals per match. Such a great result so early on in this season gives the feeling that it too could end in a truckload of silver; but, you know, we mustn't get ahead of oursleves. There's still a long journey ahead of us - but man will it be exciting.

Smiles In Training

Excuse me while I fall in love with Victor Valdes all over again as a result of this picture. Fabulous shot of a fabulous guy - it'd be perfection if he'd only grow his hair back.

The team was all smiles during training yesterday, looking nothing at all like a team that had just fallen at the hands - well, technically feet - of what was considered an inferior side. Only person wearing a contemplative frown was, predictably, Pep Guardiola - and that is never a good sign.

Let's Get The Good Feelings Back

How about we all follow Andres Iniesta's example and look ahead instead of behind? Don't let the serious expression fool you, he's not stressing over the loss against Hercules. Though admitting that it was a very odd game, he affirmed the team's desire to win and is still optimistic: "You just want to win again and get the good feelings back."

That doesn't mean he isn't wary about tonight's match: "We'll need to charge our batteries and have the right heads for such an important match. The Champions League is a very demanding competition and you pay the price for any mistakes." Obviously, Andresito's got the right outlook on things.

Champions League: FC Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos, Camp Nou, Tuesday, September 14 2010, 20:45 CET

Eager to shake off the loss to Hercules suffered a couple of days ago, the team prepares to face Panathinaikos tonight in their Champions League opener and everyone's looking for a strong win.

Barca have the home advantage, but as Pep explained in his latest press conference, it might not be that much of an advantage seeing as the pitch is in bad condition. They're trying to get it in as best shape as possible for tonight, while the team refrain from training there.

As for our opponents, I don't know much about the Greek side but Barca as well as a several other top-notch clubs are said to be interested in their captain, 20-year-old Sotiris Ninis, so I'll be watching him. Another thing to look out for is that for the first time tonight UEFA will be using two extra officials on the pitch - one at each goal to help monitor play within the penalty area.

Jeffren alone misses out on this one, still injured, with Jonathan Dos Santos called up in his stead. Hopefully this match will be a spirit lifter for everyone.

Birthday Boy: Eric Abidal

What makes yesterdy's match suck even more is that on his birthday, Eric Abidal as well as his team were unfortunately sadly off form. I wish it could have been a better night for him, but in any case, best of birthday wishes, Abi!

He's an extraordinary player, tremendously solid in his defending and hardly ever not showing up to games. At thirty one he's as great a fullback as ever, and over the past couple of years has been seriously improving as he gets older, instead of falling back. With nothing to say that the tides will be turned anytime soon, he's an indespensible part of the team and I'm so glad we've got him. Hope he has yet another awesome year and many more to come!

FC Barcelona 0-2 Hercules FC

I'm posting this away from home for the weekend, in the absence of my usual sports channel or a connection that can support a stream - i.e. I wasn't able to watch last night's match, in the end settling for following it on my twitterfeed and ESPN gamecast. And maybe not watching it was a good thing after all...

Losing two to nothing in the first half of the season, to a team newly promoted and on the national day of Catalonia no less - it's grim any way you slice it. The fact that no one really saw this coming makes it even more dejecting, but I guess that should teach us to underestimated our opponents - even if they just came up from the second division.

Not having seen them I can't fairly judge how Barca played, but I'm going to take off from what other people are saying. Apparently the defense was awful, with the two concessions on them and not Valdes who was something of a bright spot in the scrambling lackluster side that was Barca last night. In Puyol's absence I would expect Pique to be fully able to lead the defense, but when he wasn't watering the pitch with his blood or screwing up sure chances, he was just lost, totally lost. As was most of the team.

Mascherano made his debut as a starter, and that was unexpected - isn't it like engraved in stone that debutants always come on as subs? But apparently Pep got that one right, because Masche was surprisingly integrated - as integrated as one can be into a team that is falling apart - with the rest, even if he was fouling a bit too much. Looks like he'll have a great future with Barca.

Skipping on to the attack: Messi had no eyes for his teammates and spent the night making pointless runs on his own, Bojan was on a coffee break somewhere and Villa worked extra hard to be in the wrong place all night. Looking at this game as well as previous ones, I have to say that he is getting caught offside way too much. Babe, do something about that, please.

Now let's cast a glance at the game stats. 77% possession, 17 shots with 9 on goal, and 14 corners among other set pieces. Shouldn't any team be able to get at least one past the keeper - that isn't revoked for offsides or foul - with those numbers? Very distressing.

This is more than curse of the international break. This is Barca flat-out not showing up with no excuses. Next up we start Champions League group stages against Panathinaikos, let's get ourselves together in time for it, if that's not too much to ask.

La Liga: FC Barcelona vs. Hercules FC, Camp Nou, Saturday, September 11 2010, 18:00 CET

I'm hurried and barely getting this match preview up in time, so please excuse - Barca return from the international break to face Hercules FC for the first home match of the season, with only Jeffren set to miss out on this one. Puyol has been surprisingly cleared of his injury and called up to the game, while newest signing Mascherano is set to make his debut for the club tonight.

Hercules FC are newly promoted from the second division, but Pep reckons the match could be challenging, especially since Hercules have strengthened their squad over the summer with well-known such as Drenthe and Trezeguet - altogether set to be a very interesting meet!

Villa's Message Of Strength & Support

Hats off to David Villa for his support of a cause that is close to his heart: the thirty-three miners who have been trapped for a while now in a mine in Chile. Coming from a family of miners himself, with his loved ones have been in mining accidents, David is filled with compassion for the Chilean victims: "I form part of a mining family and I share the anguish of the families, but all will come out fine, they’ll see that it turns out okay. I would want to tell them that I’m with them, that all of us who know how the mine is are with them, that everyone is following them and supporting them, everywhere.”

Pictured here is Carolina Lobos, daughter of former footballer Franklin Lobos who is among the trapped miners, holding one of the signed shirts sent out by Villa on which he penned "support to you, miners, and much strength," as a gesture of solidarity with the thirty-three men.