FC Barcelona News: 30 January 2012; Barça Make no Excuses, Prepare for Tough Valencia Clash

League and Cup commitments | FC Barcelona
Following a pattern that has marked the month of January, the players will commence training this week focussed on not one but two vital matches, one each in the league and the Cup. On Wednesday Barça will travel down to Valencia (Cup semi-final first leg) while on Saturday they welcome Real Sociedad to the Camp Nou (La Liga).

Valdes: Barça must win every point | FIFA.com
"We dropped two crucial points against Villarreal," Valdes told Sport. "We simply have no more room for error. We have to win every point that is available to us. That’s the size of our task. If we want to fight for the title, we can’t slip up any more because there is a very strong rival above us."

Puyol: No excuse for Villarreal draw - Soccerway
Barcelona captain Carles Puyol offered no excuses for his side's 0-0 draw with Villarreal on Saturday but has vowed the team will bounce back."There are absolutely no excuses. The players are used to playing every three days," Puyol said.

Villarreal – Barça Match Stats | FC Barcelona
Tello’s league debut, Piqué’s 100th league appearance or the 15th time Barça players have hit the woodwork this season – just some of the stats to come out of Saturday’s game in the Madrigal stadium.

Sevilla's Frederic Kanoute: Cesc Fabregas did not use racial abuse - Goal.com
There have been rumours that Kanoute's actions had been provoked by racial abuse but he insists otherwise. "I ​​will not explain what he said, it's personal," the 34-year-old forward told the BBC. "It is sometimes the case that bad language is used in the field of play and some players react. "That's what happened to me, but I never said that he was racist or that he had made ​​any racist comment. I have to be honest in this respect."

Why Jose Mourinho is leaving ... nothing to chance - Stay or go, exit reports are all part of the plan for the Real Madrid boss - Goal.com
With Jose Mourinho, nothing is ever left to chance. From the press room to the training ground, and the boardroom to the dugout to the pitch, the Portuguese coach is a cool, calculated customer. With Mourinho, everything happens for a reason.

Injury blow for Marco Ruben | LFP
The medical tests carried out on Marco Ruben confirmed that the Argentinian forward sustained a dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint in his shoulder during Villarreal's game against Barcelona at the Madrigal. The yellow number nine will, in principle, be out for a couple of weeks though the exact time will depend on the progress he makes in the coming days.

Tamudo sidelined for two months | LFP
Rayo Vallecano forward Raúl Tamudo is to be out for the next two months after having surgery to correct the fractured ulna bone in his right arm on Sunday. The operation was successful. The surgery consisted of "an open reduction of the fracture and an osteosynthesis with an LC-DC P plate, obtaining anatomical alignment of the fracture and stabilization of the same", according to the medical report.

Mirandes aim for more Cup heroics - Yahoo! Eurosport
Balding bank manager Pablo Infante has outscored Lionel Messi to fire tiny Mirandes into a Copa del Rey semi-final against Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday, without skipping a day's work at his suit-and-tie office job in northern Spain.