FC Barcelona News: 27 October 2011; Pique, Puyol and Sanchez Back in Training, Pedro Could be Out for Three Weeks

Despite the terrific news that three FC Barcelona players, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol and Alexis Sanhez, all trained without any limitations yesterday, the news regarding Pedro wasn't so positive. After further test were taken his recovery time was pushed back for a week. If Pedro will recover as planed he will miss four games. Two of the world's most renowned sports journalists graced us with new articles as Sid Lowe wrote a story about the best team in Spain, Levante, and Graham Hunter wrote a terrific article about the man that caused Barcelona fans a headache after the Barcelona-Sevilla game, Javi Varas.

Barca welcome back Alexis, Pique - SuperSport
Barcelona pair Alexis Sanchez and Gerard Pique have returned to training after recovering from injury knocks, the European champions said on Wednesday. Pique's fellow central defender Carles Puyol has also shaken off a groin problem which sidelined the Spanish international from Barca's last two matches.

Sanchez back, Pedro out for longer - Yahoo! Eurosport
There was mixed news for Barcelona on the injury front when Alexis Sanchez returned to training but fellow forward Pedro was ruled out for longer than originally expected. Barca said after preliminary checks he would be out for between 10 and 15 days but further tests on Wednesday showed he could be missing for as long as three weeks.

Guardiola unbeaten up against Caparrós | FCBarcelona.cat
Pep Guardiola seems to have the measure of Mallorca boss Joaquín Caparrós, with Barça having beaten Athletic Club when he was charge a total of five times out of six, with just a single draw. Following Michael Laudrup’s departure from Mallorca, Caparrós took charge of the team earlier this month and this weekend will see him bring his team to the Camp Nou.

Franz Beckenbauer: Barcelona are their own worst enemies - Goal.com
"The great rival of Barcelona is Barcelona themselves. Why? Quite simply, the fans never have enough now that Barca have won so many things and have played so well; they will not settle for less," he told Mundo Deportivo.

Cesc no saint but not a racist | Sky Sports
Cesc Fabregas admits he is 'no saint' when he steps onto a football field, but has again moved to quash reports suggesting he racially abused Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute. "I know exactly what I said. Whoever stated that I said racist words has stirred things up well because everyone knows about it.

Kanoute handed ban | Barcelona Football News, Fixtures, Results, Table | Sky Sports
Frederic Kanoute has been handed a one-match ban by the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] after he was sent off against Barcelona amidst claims of racial abuse. The RFEF admits it could see that Kanoute was provoked by Fabregas but without proof of what was said it could not punish the Barcelona midfielder.

Pele: No doubt Lionel Messi is world's best - ESPN Soccernet
Brazil legend Pele believes Lionel Messi is the undisputed No. 1 footballer in the world at present, but has high hopes for Santos star Neymar. Messi, 24, has been named World Player of the Year for the past two years having starred for Barcelona, recently climbing to second on the club's list of all-time leading goalscorer.

Jordi Alba sets sights on Barcelona move & puts Valencia contract talks on hold - report - Goal.com
Spain international Jordi Alba could be on his way out of Valencia at the end of the season as the full-back has set his sights on a move to Barcelona, Sport reports. The 22-year-old's current contract runs until the summer of 2013, but Los Che are keen to keep him at Mestalla and are ready to offer him a new and improved deal.

Brescia keeper denies Barca link - Soccerway
Brescia goalkeeper Nicola Leali is not paying too much attention to reports linking him with a move to Barcelona. Speculation from Spain earlier this month suggested the Italy Under-19 international was being monitored by Pep Guardiola's scouts as a possible replacement for Jose Manuel Pinto.

Real Madrid’s Aitor Karanka: Levante are the best team in La Liga right now - Goal.com
On Tuesday Karanka said that Juan Ignacio Martinez’s side have been the best in the Spanish first division this campaign and continues to maintain his stance. "The best so far are Levante and they deserve to be because they're playing at a very high level," the 38-year-old is quoted as saying by Madrid’s official website.

Levante continue run, Real Madrid win - ESPN Soccernet
Levante stayed top of the Spanish league as they beat Real Sociedad 3-2 with a stunning late winner from substitute Ruben Suarez. Martinez brought Sociedad back level with a fine finish from the edge of the box with three minutes remaining, before Ruben's fierce strike from 30 yards with virtually the last kick of the game handed Levante the three points.

Levante pulls off the impossible in Spain's La Liga - Sid Lowe - SI.com
Except that it's not a Barcelona flag that hangs on the first mast. This Monday, Raimon did something he has never done before: he hoisted Levante's flag up first. The night before, he had turned on the stadium lights, illuminating all around well into the small hours of the morning, even though there was no game on. He had never done that before, either. But this was a special moment. Unique.

Javi Varas is La Liga's ultimate late bloomer -- Graham Hunter -- ESPN
Varas had spent much of the previous week studying Messi's penalty-taking technique. The stats are that the little Argentine genius had taken 21 penalties for Barca before Saturday night, scoring 17 of them. The last two he missed went to the keeper's left hand -- one saved, one over the bar -- the previous two to the keeper's right.

Roig backs Garrido | Sky Sports
It was Villarreal's second successive 3-0 loss as they suffered a defeat by the same margin by Levante at home at the weekend. Villarreal are also struggling in the Champions League and have lost all three Group A matches, and Garrido has come under pressure.

Spain really does rule the world - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Not only players have made the move. Albert Benaiges was the head of Barca's famed youth system until he was tempted to Dubai - for the footballing challenge you'll understand. Luis Enrique went from coaching Barca's B team to AS Roma's first team. He's since taken a clutch of Spaniards with him, like the former Barca striker Bojan.