FC Barcelona Supporters Club Miami

Messi friendly to be held in Sun Life Stadium in June.

ibrahim.ayyub@yahoo.com (Administrators) — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:55:16 +0000

For the first time ever, Messi will be in South Florida and not for vacation. The World Soccer Masters Tour will be coming to Miami on June 23rd at the Sun Life Stadium. Messi will also be joined by some of his fellow Barcelona teammates Dani Alves and Javier Mascherano along with other football stars such as Falcao, Forlán, Luis Suárez, Cavani, and Drogba. Tickets go on sale today.

According to Luis F. Sanchez of the Miami Heralrd, the exhibition game is part of the World Soccer Masters Tour that will feature Messi and his Barcelona teammates, Brazilian Dani Alves and Argentine Javier Mascherano along with Colombian Radamel Falcao, Uruguayan Diego Forlán of Inter Milan, Ivorian Didier Drogba, Uruguayans Luis Suárez of Liverpool and Edison Cavani of Napoli; Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Nesta and others. Carlos Dunga, captain of the 1994 Brazilian World Cup Champions and former Brazil’s National team coach will coach Messi’s team.

The game will take place on Saturday, on June 23rd at the Sun Life Stadium just a a few days after the players face off in a similar friendly in Bogota, Colombia on June 21st. The names of the rest of the players will be announced next week in a press conference in Coral Gables where Falcao and Dunga will be present.

“It will be a real soccer show,” Correa said Saturday. “The fans will be able to watch an open game, without pressure, with Messi and the other stars displaying all their fancy play on the field.”

Tickets went on sale today and can found at ticketmasters - http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0D0048AB70C02A97?camefrom=wsm_dolphinsemail

Keita’s injury time goal gives Barça a draw in Pep’s final league match.

ibrahim.ayyub@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:34:22 +0000

FC Barcelona endured another difficult encounter against Real Betis as they fought back to snatch a 2-2 draw away in Andalucia. Busquets opened the scoring in the ninth minute when he headed in a corner kick. Barcelona were in cruise control until Dani Alves was sent off in the 53rd minute for his second booking. Betis took advantage of Barça being a man down and Ruben Castro made them pay when he scored in the 71st minute to tie it up. Castro then gave his side the lead with a well taken goal three minutes later. Although they were down a man, Barça did not give up and sit back but pushed forward seeking for the equaliser. Messi came close when his free kick struck the post but Keita rescued his team when he headed in Montoya’s cross in the first minute of stoppage time. Next up for Barça is the Copa del Rey Final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25th.

Puyol’s knee injury rules him out of Copa del Rey Final and Euro 2012.

ibrahim.ayyub@yahoo.com (Administrator) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:48:08 +0000

Puyol’s knee injury rules him out of Copa del Rey Final and Euro 2012.

FC Barcelona & La Roja fans were disappointed to learn that Carles Puyol will be out of action for six weeks following a knee injury in the Barcelona derby. This injury will effectively rule him out of the Copa del Rey Final scheduled for May 25th and also will miss out defending Spain’s title of European champions in the upcoming Euro 2012. However, Puyol spoke to the media today and emphasized that was not retiring from the Spanish national team.

Puyol’s season came to a halt yesterday when it was announced by Barça that the captain of the team will undergo knee surgery which will sideline him for six weeks. Puyol felt discomfort in his right knee in Barcelona's victory over Espanyol last Saturday and the club announced that following complementary tests, it was decided that Puyol would undergo arthroscopy surgery on this Saturday. The surgery will be directed by Doctor Ramon Cugat.

Almost a year ago, Puyol underwent arthroscopy on his left knee in order to remove loose cartilage from his femoral trochlea after missing almost all of the second half of the 2010-2011 season to injuries. His return came on September 13 for the UEFA Champions League game against AC Milan. This season was going well for Puyol who featured in 44 matches in all competitions and scored a career high 5 goals.

Puyol has 99 caps and has played for Spain at all major championships since the 2002 World Cup. The 34 year old defender was also one of the team captains and has been a reliable presence in the Spanish back line for more than a decade and scored the winning goal in the 1-0 World Cup Semi-final victory over Germany at the 2010 World Cup. Puyol spoke to the media today about his injury.

"To be honest it's going to be very tough, but I have to wait and see how the operation goes," the Barcelona centre-back told a news conference on Wednesday when asked whether he would be fit for the tournament.

"But I think it's impossible because when you come out of an operation there is a recovery period and I believe that those who are in better shape should go," added the 34-year-old.

"I am not saying I am retiring or not retiring from the national team," Puyol told reporters at Wednesday's news conference.

"Right now the operation is the important thing and later we'll see. It's not only my decision," he added.

A Look Back At Barça Legends - Luis Suárez.

ibrahim.ayyub@yahoo.com (Ibrahim Ayyub) — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:54:08 +0000

As we look back and pay tribute to past players who helped paved the way for the club, we continue this series with a look back at the one and only Luis Suárez. Unfortunately, when the name Luis Suárez is mentioned by somebody, everyone assumes it's about the Uruguyan international currently playing for Liverpool. Once upon a time, there was another Luis Suárez who was plying his craft in Spain. He featured in over 200 matches and scored over 100 goals for FC Barcelona. He was also the club’s first ever Golden Ball winner and played in the club’s first ever Champions League final. Unfortunately, he and the club seem distant as this legend is tied to Inter Milan as a scout. Nevertheless, Suárez and his accomplishments will never be forgotten nor should they ever be forgotten.

Thank You Pep!

ibrahim.ayyub@yahoo.com (Ibrahim Ayyub) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:01:11 +0000

Well, it’s official. Josep “Pep” Guardiola will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Even though we all knew it was bound to happen, the fact that it will finally happen surprised us all. So Pep leaves but the question of who will replace was swiftly taken care of after it was announced that his assistant, Tito Vilanova, was going to take over. That was another surprise but a pleasant one. So Pep leaves us but this does not mean the end of an era. In the end, thank you Pep for four wonderful unforgettable years that made us Cules proud.

Membership Special!

info@miamiblaugrana.org (Administrator) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:40:11 +0000

We are running a membership special this month, join us through April and enjoy a 20% discount off and pay only $24.00 for your 2012-2013 membership with full benefits!

Clikc here to find out more about benefits and payment options.

Força Barça!

El Anti-Idolo Series Part I: Fabio Rochemback.

ibrahim.ayyub@yahoo.com (Alex Hoy) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:36:56 +0000

El Anti-Idolo Series Part I: Fabio Rochemback

As Ibrahim begins a retrospective on FC Barcelona’s most distinguished performers, I will offer

up its counterpoint by profiling the lesser lights to wear the blaugrana. First up is the thoroughly

underwhelming Fabio Rochemback

Rochemback made his debut for Porto Alegre’s SC Internacional at the tender age of 17. After

steadily working his way into Inter’s starting XI, Rochemback must have been thrilled to

near death when he got the call from FC Barcelona. Though just shy of his 20th birthday, the

supposedly versatile midfielder from Southern Brazil found himself defending the shirt of the

world’s most important club.

Rochemback set about underwhelming the faithful from day one. He managed 45 league

appearances and three goals. He added one goal in Champions League play. Rochemback was

out of his depth: he exhibited poor marking, inaccurate passing, indecisiveness, and obvious

nerves. He was loaned to Sporting of Portugal in 2003. Supposedly he “developed” while

wearing the green stripes, but I was fortunate enough not to see any of his action in Portugal.

Stupidly, Barcelona kept him on the payroll until 2005, when his contract was picked up by

English superpower Middlesbrough.

Interestingly, Rochemback would go on to play for Gremio, the cross-town rivals of SC

Internacional. Doing his best to emulate traitors such as Luis Figo and Sol Campbell, he even

wore the armband as Gremio’s captain. Currently, Rochemback is leaving his stain on the

Chinese Super League.

Many fans were flabbergasted by Rochemback’s signing and I remain mystified as to how he

remained on the payroll for four terrible years. Newly minted Barcelona fans may not remember

the lean years of 1999-2004 when we failed to collect silverware. Signings like Rochemback

were emblematic of this disgraceful half decade.

Miami Penya's Alex Hoy kicks off his series about some of the most disappointing players to ever represent the Blaugrana. Alex's first Anti-Idolo is the former player, Fabio Rochemback.