FC Barcelona News: 13 January 2012; Barça Set Up Quarter-Final El Clasico, Fontas Tears ACL, Pedro Also Injured

'In my entire life I have never seen a player of such quality' - how Lionel Messi's path to greatness began against Fabio Capello's Juventus - Goal.com
The previous season he had made his debut, finishing with nine appearances, and he had become Barca’s youngest scorer (since superseded by Bojan), a World Cup winner at youth level and now he was in the sights of Moratti and Inter; Messi was, without question, the hot player when Juventus came to town. It was the first time I experienced full-blown Messi-mania.

Barca to face Real in Copa quarters - Yahoo! Eurosport
Hosts Osasuna dominated the first half and should have had more to show it than Dejan Lekic’s 40th-minute strike: they were made to pay early in the second when Alexis Sanchez tapped in a fine Adriano cross. Following the introduction of the world’s best player Lionel Messi, Barca were in control and added a second when youngster Sergi Roberto cracked in a fine finish, assisted in style by the Argentine.

Barcelona's Pedro doubtful for Real Madrid Copa del Rey clash - Goal.com
It's not yet known exactly how long the Spain international will be sidelined for following the thigh problem, but it seems unlikely that Pedro will be match fit for the upcoming league match against Real Betis this Sunday, while he's also doubtful for next week's Copa del Rey quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Andreu Fontàs, injured, the bitter side of the game | FC Barcelona
After 11 minutes, Andreu Fontàs couldn’t pick himself off the Reyno de Navarra pitch. The look of pain on his face sounded the warning alarms on the Barça bench. The first medical exam was administered after the medical staff carried the defender off the field. It pointed to an injury of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the right knee.

PSG edges Barça's U17 B side out of the Al Kass International Cup | FC Barcelona
García Pimienta’s men perfectly controlled the first half with 55% of the possession. But Dembele Mousa’s second half goal gave PSG passage to the next round thanks to goal differential. In the first game, Barça beat Al-Ahly 3-0 while PSG put 9 past the Egyptians. The three teams were all in Group B, and PSG will go through to the next round.

Ask Guillem: Martinez to Manchester? Struggling strikers at Barcelona? | Guillem Balague Football Website
Messi has won titles for Barcelona and it is automatic that he will play as either the false striker, wide or as a midfielder and that everybody else has to work around him. When Villa arrived, he was told: `Don`t expect to be the top goalscorer. Your job is to help Messi become even better`. He accepted this at first but now it is harder to accept because he has always been a goalscorer.

Barcelona's Jonathan Soriano: I confirm there are advanced talks with Benfica - Goal.com
Benfica have long been credited with an interest in Soriano, but the 26-year-old's knee injury prevented the Portuguese club from signing him last summer. The Spanish frontman has revealed that he is in negotiations with Benfica and conceded that he is looking forward to reuniting with Nolito, who signed for the Portuguese giants at the end of the last season after finding playing opportunities very hard to come by at Camp Nou.

Ronaldo in spotlight after fan spat - Yahoo! Eurosport
Even more attention than usual will be focused on Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo when the Liga leaders play at Real Mallorca on Saturday after his petulant reaction to whistling from disgruntled fans last weekend. There appears to be a perception among some of the Real faithful that the world's most expensive player can be too selfish and that he is more concerned with personal success than collective triumph.

Weiss to consider future | Sky Sports
Weiss has had limited opportunities to impress at the Etihad Stadium since breaking into the first-team squad as a teenager in 2009, and he has had to settle for loan spells elsewhere to get regular football. The Slovakia international, now 22, is currently midway through a season-long deal with Espanyol and he is enjoying life in Spain, perhaps even more so than when he was in the Premier League.