Bankrupt Barcelona - New Era for The Catalans (FIFA 13)

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Barcelona outscore opponents 9-1 in three straight games

FC Barcelona 2-1 Celta Viga

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• Despite Viga being second from bottom, it didn't stop the bottom feeders from giving Barcelon a good game.

FC Barcelona 5-0 Luga *Spanish Cup*

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• Raheem Sterling and a few others net a handful of goals as Barcelona now hold a 5-0 aggregate score over Luga going into the second leg. Defender Jordan Lukaku scored a controversial goal after he recklessly brought an opposing player down in their own box, who then proceeded to slide one past the keeper. Cristian Tello netted a hat-rick.

FC Barcelona 2-0 Real Zaragoza

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• Areola has his first ever consecutive clean sheet as The Catalans disposed of Zaragoza quite easily.

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Champions League result: Brest fall to Barcelona, 4-0. With win, the Catalans advance

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With a four goal extravaganza, Barcelona have comfortably progressed to the next stages of the Champions League, to the delight of the travelling fans.

With goals from Pedro, David Villa, Alexandre Song and Pedro, in the 7th, 13th, 34th and 67th minute, Barcelona sailed to a victory that put them just a win away and a goal less in difference to top seeded Chelsea.



There's no denying that Barcelona are playing their best football right now, they've outscored their opponents 13-1 in the last four games, with three consecutive clean sheets.

Stade Brest never managed to have a shot against Barcelona, who struggled to defeat them earlier in the competition. However, the Catalonian club have found their form and look like one of the best in Europe, despite having their best player, Cesc Fabregas sidelined with an leg injury.

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Barca played down to their opponents level in disappointing draw


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A late equaliser led Levante to draw in a 2-2 stalemate with the Catalans as the Spanish heavyweights looked exhausted after their recent Champions League cup tie.

Xavi opened the scoring with a long range ground shot, easily beating the goalkeeper after his defenders had obstructed his view. Roger equalised in the 50th minute for Levante before Tshabalala scored in the 69th minute to give Barcelona the lead again.

However, it couldn't stay that way as Diop scored in the 86th minute to give 16th place Levante a valuable one point.

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Tshabalala becoming a known commodity for the Catalans

Since arriving in the summer for a fee of €2.5M from the Kaizer Chiefs, 27-year old Siphiwe Tshabalala has started every league game for Barcelona, scoring nine goals in fourteen appearances, which leads the league.

While at at the training ground this morning, a relaxed "Shabba" known by his team-mates, was gliding around the pitch smoothly, looking pleased while curling his dreadlocks around with his fingers.

"He's fit in here great," said Barcelona's captain Xavi. "He's been good so far, he's played very well and it's worked out well for both parties." said the manager.

It wasn't long ago that Tshabalala was subtly called out by the manager with a couple of other players after a Champions League loss to Chelsea.

Since then, Tshabalala has looked like one of the most dangerous players in the BBVA and has scored more goals than his team-mate David Villa, who has one less at this stage of the calendar year.

Shabba has become a fan favourite with the Spanish club, the fans chant his name throughout the game and he's one of the top sellers for Barcelona merchandise around the world.

That's a different story to what Tshabalala would have told you before the summer, before becoming a household name in Catalonia. He was just the speedy South African international forward who gained recognition at the 2010 FIFA World cup.

Now he's one of the feared strikers of a Barcelona team who are in pretty fine form, challenging the likes of Valencia and Real Madrid for the league title, which was won by their rivals, Real Madrid.

Tshabalala isn't the only one who's now making a name for himself. The team was on the verge of becoming bankrupt when they took the decision to sell star players such as Lionel Messi and Iniesta. As a result, six new players were signed. Areola has starred as the goalkeeper, the young 19-year old has had some good and bad games, goes with the territory of being introduced to the league at such a young age. Song, who switched from Arsenal in the summer has also played well in midfield and defense while team-mate and defender Jordan Lukaku, an 18-year old up-and-comer has performed admirably as well.

But none have had the impact that Tshabalala holds. The Sowetan striker just has the "it" factor for Barcelona, something that's hard to explain.

"When he's on the field and has the ball, you expect something to happen." said defender Pique. "He's a good player and he's going to get better as he gets more experience in the league."

Shabba's bound to get a re-worked salary deal when the next transfer window comes around, the dreadlocked forward, who can also fall back and play midfielder is earning around €20k per week. That could go as far as up to €100k per week.

In the meantime, the hustling forward can score more goals.

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Barcelona finish second in Champions League group stage

FC Barcelona 3-0 Athletico Bilbao

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David Villa scored his hat-trick within the first-half as the Catalans cruised to an easy win against Bilbao, who are falling down the table. Barcelona looked in control for the majority of the game. Tshabalala was injured in a training practice a couple of days later, his timetable for his groin to recovery is set to three weeks. See you in January.

SC WRN. 0-2 FC Barcelona

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Despite mostly second stringers playing, the Spanish club looked comfortable as they coasted through the group stages with just one loss. Their round of 16 match-up will pit them against Italian Club AC Milan.

Real Betis 1-0 FC Barcelona

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Betis shock Barcelona in a one goal affair as the Catalans slip to fourth while their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, claim first place in the La Liga for the first time this season.

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Barca escape with draw against Atletico Madrid, end 2012 with 5-1 stomping in Spanish Cup


FC Barcelona 1-1 Atletico Madrid

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Cristian Tello's late strike that hit the post that went crept in -- in the 86th minute gave Barcelona some valuable points as they try to shorten the deficit in the league race. If not for the Madrid keeper, Barcelona could have written off Atletico early on.

Lugo 1-3 FC Barcelona *Spanish Cup - *Simmed*

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Valladolid 2-2 FC Barcelona - *Simmed*

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FC Barcelona 5-1 Hercules - Spanish Cup

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In the first leg of the next round of the Spanish Cup, the Catalans easily disposed of the lower league Spanish club, in what could probably be slated as the most one sided game in Spain this season.

*David Villa pulled his hamstring in training and will be out for about 3 weeks.

Hercules 0-1 FC Barcelona - Spanish Cup *Simmed*

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With transfer window opening, Barcelona attempting to add depth for run at BBVA title and Champions League

With the January transfer window opening, spanish giants, FC Barcelona, are attempting to lure a couple of players to Catalonia for their final push for silverware this season.

The biggest name, though least costly is 37-year old David Beckham, who joined French club PSG in the summer. He's no stranger to the Spanish league, playing for five years with Real Madrid when he left Manchester United in 2003. Barcelona reportedly "really want him", due to his experience and leadership that will help the younger players in the squad. The chances of this happening are 50%. Barcelona may have to offer PSG a couple of million for this deal to work out, they have reportedly offered PSG €450k.

Another player that will probably sign for the Catalans is Korean goalkeeper Kim Young Kwang. The 29-year old will add depth to Barcelona's goalkeeping chart, with Victor Valdes most likely leaving during this month's transfer window. Barcelona have been rumoured to have offered €2.7m for the goalkeeper who plays for Ulsan Hyundai.

And finally, another deal that will most likely be inked is 23-year old, Ibrahima Balde. The Senegalese striker plays for Russian Side Kuban Krasnodar. Despite the transfer market being opened for just an hour, the Russian side have been "reportedly" accepted a €3.2m bid for the speedy striker.

Not everyone is arriving to Barcelona, some will be leaving too. Pedro who didn't turn up to training today has been placed on the transfer list, he has recently been replaced by younger (and more in-form) forward Cristian Tello. Barcelona also rejected two bids for Siphiwe Tshabalala. Fluminese reportedly offered Barcelona €4.1m for his services, the market suggests Tshabalala's value is around €2.5m. They aren't the only team to have shown interest. Italian club Udinese offered €2.8 for the South African winger, however, the Spanish club have said "no" without any hesitation.

Barcelona have also announced 17-year old winger, Raheem Sterling is available to loan and so too is 24-year old Nacer Chadli. Both joined last summer, these are two signings that haven't shown much since their switch to the Spanish league.

Adriano, who has fought homesickness since the summer has told the media he has no "intention" of leaving the Spanish giants. Adriano most likely won't be moving but if an offer came through, it would be hard for the Catalans to turn it down when they have plenty of depth in defense.