FC Barcelona News: 9 August 2011; Xavi Injured, Barca B Reach Copa Catalunya Final, Real Madrid Sign Leo

Comeback to reach the final (1-2)
The final of the 22nd Catalan Cup will take place between Barça and Espanyol. Eusebio’s team came back from a goal down against Girona with goals from Lobato and Riverola to get through to Tuesday’s final. Barça’s win will mean that they are through to the final of the 22nd Catalan Cup against Espanyol, who beat hosts Nastic 2-1.

Euro 2012 qual. - Xavi drops out of Spain squad - Yahoo! Eurosport
Barcelona midfielder Xavi is out of the Spain squad to play Italy in a friendly on Wednesday after failing to recover from a calf injury. Xavi was examined by federation doctors when the squad assembled outside Madrid on Monday but was deemed unfit for the match in Bari and will return to his club for treatment, the Spanish football federation said in a statement.

Thiago is the real deal, Fabio Coentrao is Mourinho's utility man - what we learned from Barcelona & Real Madrid's pre-season campaigns - Goal.com
Impressive against Internacional and imperious versus Bayern Munich, Thiago Alcantara showed exactly why so many clubs are chasing him this summer - and just why Barcelona won't be letting him leave any time soon.

La Liga - Iniesta: Thiago ready for Spain debut - Yahoo! Eurosport
"He's very young but he has demonstrated he has more than enough quality," Iniesta, scorer of Spain's winning goal in last year's World Cup final, said. "He is extremely talented considering how young he is and it is for this reason the coach has opted to call him up."

Champions League 2011-12: A dream team to beat Barcelona | David Pleat | Football | The Guardian
Summer reflections on Barcelona's Wembley display … perchance to dream. Selecting a team is easy but uniting a group of individual talents to find a way of defeating the master magicians of Barça is more difficult. A balanced team is essential and it must be a team that can counter the intricate passing and interplay of positioning that the Catalans produce.

Neymar will not leave Santos before 2012 - agent - ESPN Soccernet
Agent Wagner Ribeiro told Folha de Sao Paulo: "All the reports are nothing but speculation. An agreement with Real Madrid is not an option until 2012. "We have a good relationship with Madrid, but nothing will happen before August 31. Anything is possible, though, next year."

Real Madrid signs 7-year-old Argentine prospect Leo - ESPN
Real Madrid has signed a seven-year-old football prospect from Argentina, who goes by the name Leo. Leonel Angel Coira has signed with the Spanish club and will begin training Sept. 6, Madrid spokesman Juan Tapiador tells The Associated Press.

La Liga - Alfaro makes Mallorca move - Yahoo! Eurosport
The 24-year-old, who came through the youth system at Sevilla, has made the switch for a fee thought to be €700,000 (£611,000). Although never being able to break into the first team at Sevilla on a regular basis he did enjoy a highly successful two-year loan spell with Tenerife which yielded 27 goals.

Michel seals Getafe move - Yahoo! Eurosport
Midfielder Michel has left Birmingham to join Spanish Primera Division side Getafe for an undisclosed fee. The 25-year-old Spaniard, who joined Blues from Sporting Gijon in January 2010, leaves St Andrew's after making just 12 appearances, with half of those coming from the bench.