FC Barcelona News: 17 August 2011; Supercopa El Clasico Part Two, Busquets Back in Training, Strike Still On

Camp Nou to decide the champion | FCBarcelona
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are both looking to win the first trophy of the season tonight, the Spanish Supercup. With the help of a full Camp Nou, Barça could be lifting the eleventh trophy of the Guardiola era. Three days after drawing 2-2 in the first leg at the Bernabéu, the two sides go head to head again in another edition of the clásico.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2011 Spanish Supercup: Blaugranas Hold Slight Advantage - SBNation.com
Thanks to their draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, Barcelona will be considered slight favorites in the return leg in Catalonia. Neither Xavi Hernandez or Gerard Pique started that match and both are expected to be in the starting lineup on Wednesday.

Barcelona's Pep Guardiola talks up Real Madrid - ESPN Soccernet
"In the first leg, Madrid were better, in these three days we have improved some things, but I believe they are still better," he said. "That is the feeling I have, but every match is a story. If the return leg were in two weeks, it would be different. We will have to play better than we did at the Santiago Bernabeu to win the Supercopa.

Weekend strike still on despite talks - Yahoo! Eurosport
"We haven't reached any kind of agreement," LFP president Jose Luis Astiazaran said after the first meeting between the two sides since the strike was invoked last week. "The AFE have dug their heels in. There are important differences, but we will have to continue moving forward."

Cesc set for Barca bench role - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Big name stars are happy to talk for free until late in the night. And then there's Xavi, the greatest talker in modern football, a fan as well as a player. He went to one radio studio recently and his 15 minutes slot turned into two hours. He was in no rush to leave. This is a man who wakes at night and wonders about the origins of stadium names and whether ‘Everton' is near Liverpool or a part of it.

Barcelona's Sergio Busquets resumes regular training ahead of Supercopa second-leg against Real Madrid - Goal.com
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has received some good news from the treatment table in the build-up toward the Spanish Supercopa second-leg against Real Madrid, as holding midfielder Sergio Busquets has resumed regular training, EP reports.The midfielder picked up a knee problem in Spain's 2-1 friendly loss against Italy last week.

A home-grown eleven | FCBarcelona.cat
The power of the Barça youth system is more evident than ever. Guardiola often fields around six or seven local players in a game, whether at El Molinón or in the Champions League final. The doors to the first team are wide open to players fostered at the club itself, as Thiago and Fontàs well know, who have both just become fully fledged first team members.

Cruzeiro confirm signing of Barcelona's Keirrison - Goal.com
Cruzeiro director of football Dimas Fonseca has confirmed the club have secured the loan signing of Barcelona striker Keirrison. The 22-year-old attacker joins Cruzeiro until the end of the year, with the Brazilian outfit subsidizing less than half of the player's salary.

Atletico Madrid agree €17m transfer fee with Espanyol for Pablo Osvaldo - report - Goal.com
Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Espanyol over the transfer of Pablo Osvaldo as the Catalans have accepted a €17 million offer for the striker, Marca reports. The 2010 Europa League winners have been in the market for a new attacker since the departure of Sergio Aguero to Manchester City earlier this summer and have been tracking the 25-year-old for a number of weeks.

La Liga - Vela joins Real Sociedad - Yahoo! Eurosport
The 22-year old joined Arsenal from Mexican side Guadalajara in 2005 and has scored just three goals in 29 appearances. The Mexican, who can play as either a striker or a winger, has seen his chances limited over the past few years and has subsequently been sent out on loan to Salamanca, Osasuna and West Bromwich Albion.

Official: Sporting Gijon sign Porto's Andre Castro on loan - Goal.com
Sporting Gijon have announced they have completed the signing of Porto midfielder Andre Castro on a season-long loan. The Portuguese midfielder spent the second half of the last season on loan at the El Molinon, with the club keen on securing the player's services on a temporary basis a second time.

Knee injury blow for Nunes | LFP
Mallorca captain suffers torn meniscus. To be exact, and according to the medical report, Nunes has "an anterior horn tear of the lateral meniscus, accompanied by a grade II sprain of the external collateral ligament in the right knee", which may require an operation