Ballon Bore | Early Doors - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Yesterday Lionel Messi was awarded the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or. Okay, he wasn't, but we know he will be, just as we knew that the shortlist would comprise Messi, his Barcelona buddy Andres Iniesta and hair gel's Cristiano Ronaldo.
FIFA Ballon d’Or: Messi and Iniesta, among the three finalists | FC Barcelona
Leo Messi and Andrés Iniesta are two of the three finalists for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2012. The names of the three finalists – Messi, Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - were announced on Thursday lunchtime. The winner of the award for the best player of 2012 will be announced at a ceremony held in Zurich on 7th January.
Eight years of Ballon d’Or dominance | FC Barcelona
Barça’s dominance in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards has been confirmed once again by the nomination of Leo Messi and Andrés Iniesta on a shortlist list of three for the 2012 award. There has been at least one Barça player among the final three since 2004, except for 2006 when despite the team winning the UEFA Champions League not a single Barça player was nominated.
Home-grown talent showing youth is served at Barcelona - Sid Lowe - SI.com
Together, they passed another milestone, one of huge emotional and practical importance. For the first time in Barcelona's history, its entire team had come through the club's youth system at one stage or another. Eleven players: eight Catalans, ten Spaniards, and all eleven of them from La Masía. An entire team, home-grown.
Messi preselected for FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2012 | FC Barcelona
Leo Messi will represent FC Barcelona in the striker category of the FIFA/FIFPro World XI. The three winners will be named during the FIFA Ballon d’Or ceremony on January 7. The FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2012 team is selected by professional footballers from around the world.
There's plenty to celebrate on Barça's 113th anniversary | FC Barcelona
November 29 is a big day in Can Barça. Víctor Valdés celebrates his 12th year since his debut for the senior side; Messi and Iniesta are named to the FIFA Ballon d’Or shortlist; 10 FC Barcelona players are nominated to the FIFA/FIFPro World XI (including Messi); Culés celebrate Barça historic 5-0 over Real Madrid... all on the day that marks FC Barcelona’s 113th birthday.
Iniesta appeals for help to save boyhood club - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
"Using this letter I would like to encourage everyone who has been connected with this club, former players, fans, companies and institutions to take part in the third phase of the capital increase so that we can safeguard our historic club," he wrote. "The country is going through a very difficult economic situation and we will only resolve this situation if all of us who can make an effort."
Villa: "The Wembley goal is the most important one I’ve scored" | FC Barcelona
"When you look at the stats it makes you think you’ve done a good job and you feel proud. I’ve scored some good goals and some very important ones. The best was the one I scored for Valencia against Deportivo from the middle of the pitch. And what’s more we won 0-1. The most important goal was in the Champions League final at Wembley. I’ve always liked to score from headers because it’s my strength".
Thiago: "We want to finish the year with the same confidence" | FC Barcelona
Thiago Alcántara admitted to reporters on Thursday that none of the players expected to find the team in such a good position at this stage of the season. He is excited about the possibility this weekend of setting a new record for the best start to a league season. He added, "We’re in good shape and we want to finish the year with the same confidence as we have now".
Planas: No words can describe Barcelona debut - Goal.com
"No words can describe making your debut here," he explained to the club website. "The feeling that you get when you finally play a game at the club where you have been since you were a child, fighting and working hard to play in the first team, I cannot describe it. I have given everything for this moment."
Spotlight on Athletic Club: Los Leones eye the Camp Nou | FC Barcelona
Athletic Club has its roots in shipyards and mines of Bilbao, the industrial heart of the Basque country. In the early 1890s, British laborers in the ports and mines of the Basque city founded Bilbao Football Club, which laid the ground work for Athletic Club Bilbao founded in 1898 by a group of Basque students returning from England.