FC Barcelona News: 24 December 2011; Johan Cruyff Hits Out at Jose Mourinho

Guardiola’s Barça end the year 2011 with 170 goals in all competitions | FC Barcelona
On Thursday, goals from Pedro, Iniesta, Xavi, Thiago, Tello, and Cuenca, the latter three with 2 goals each, ended a year with 170 goals scored. It's an historical figure since until then a team from the Spanish League had never scored as many goals in the various official competitions, in the same calendar year.

Johan Cruyff hits out at Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho: You can never belittle the Club World Cup - Goal.com
"This is a tournament that you can never belittle," the 64-year-old is quoted by AS as saying. "First, one has to qualify to get there, you have to win the Champions League, otherwise you cannot play there. "Barcelona must be happy with what it accomplished, specially with the football it is playing, which delights the entire world."

Cesc: "It’s Pep who makes the machine work" | FC Barcelona
The Barça number 4 spoke about Barça Manager Pep Guardiola and about the renewal of Pep's contract. "Only he knows (if he'll renew his contract), but he seems very motivated to me" said Cesc, who explained that Guardiola "doesn't let anyone take it easy. It has always been my dream to play for Barça, and since childhood I was always proud to say that I played for this Club. One of the reasons why anyone would want to play for Barça is because of Pep".

Barcelona's Andoni Zubizarreta 'will not lose sleep' ahead of potential Clasico tie in Copa del Rey - Goal.com
"I will not lose sleep if we face Real Madrid because my first sleep will be against Osasuna," said Zubizarreta. I do not like to foresee scenarios, but rather focus on what will come next. "The league win at Osasuna was easy, but every game is different and it is safe to assume that they have learned much since then. The same goes for Guardiola too."

Santos prepared for 'war' over Neymar signature - ESPN Soccernet
Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro is predicting "a war" for Neymar's signature in 2014. Neymar, 19, is considered one of football's brightest talents, and interest from Europe is high, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea all linked with the forward in recent months.

Real Madrid deny interest in Gremio midfielder Fernandes - ESPN Soccernet
Real Madrid have denied any interest in signing Gremio midfielder Mario Fernandes. Reports had suggested the capital club were keen to secure Fernandes' services next month, with Spanish newspaper Marca claiming a €15 million bid would be tabled.

Gremio president Paulo Odone: We spoke with Real Madrid about Mario Fernandes - Goal.com
Gremio president Paulo Odone has confirmed that his side were approached by Real Madrid regarding defender Mario Fernandes. "There were some talks with Madrid in November, but we never talked about money because we want Mario to stay," he told Marca.Madrid

Diego Simeone replaces Gregorio Manzano as Atletico Madrid manager - ESPN Soccernet
Atletico Madrid have appointed former midfielder Diego Simeone as coach on an 18-month contract, the club have confirmed.Simeone won a Primera Division and Copa del Rey double during his first spell playing for the Rojiblancos in the mid-1990s and later returned to the club for another two-year period in 2003.