FC Barcelona News: 14 February 2012; Sergio Busquets Resumes Training, UEFA Champions League Continues

Busquets resumes full training for Barcelona ahead of Bayer Leverkusen Champions League clash - Goal.com
Busquets trained normally with the rest of the Barca squad at the BayArena on Monday evening in a clear sign that he could start for the Catalan side in Tuesday's match. The news comes as an important boost to the defending European champions, as Guardiola has had to deal with an injury crisis at Camp Nou this season.

Barcelona may have lost to Osasuna, but have little to fear in crisis-stricken Leverkusen - Goal.com
Having finished runners-up in Group E of the Champions League, the round of 16 draw was almost sure to be a very tough one for Bayer Leverkusen. But when they were pitted against Barcelona on December 16, it was the equivalent of a death sentence for the German side. And to this day, that has not changed.

Guardiola: "We must score, it's vital" | FC Barcelona
In fact, since Guardiola took charge of FC Barcelona, the team has never won the away leg of the last-16 round. "It’s always been very difficult to get into this competition [after the break], and it’s always a risk to play against Germans. Against Stuttgart (1-1), two years ago, they deserved much more," said the Barça manager during today’s press conference.

Alves: "The Champions League requires a lot of focus" | FC Barcelona
"one of this team’s strengths is that we know where we are and what competition we’re playing in." The defender said that the Champions League "requires a lot of focus, quality and desire." Ahead of tomorrow’s match, Alves cautioned that Bayer Leverkusen "is a very strong side at home ... we’ll have to be very altert in order to avoid any surprises."

Bayer Leverkusen-Barça: Did you know…? | FC Barcelona
Four of the games between the two have occurred in the group phase of the Champions League, with the other two in the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup in the 1987/88 season, when Bayer won over the two legs (0-0 and 0-1).

Zubizarreta: "We constantly self-evaluate" | FC Barcelona
With Barça preparing to play in last-16 round of the Champions League and trailing Madrid by 10 points in the league, Andoni Zubizarreta defended Barça’s first team from the recent criticism it has received: "we constantly self-evaluate. We always try to be the best, I don’t believe that the team has become complacent."

Xavi, named best Catalan player of the year | FC Barcelona
The winners of the first edition of the Catalan Football Gala, sponsored by the Catalan Football Federation, have been named. Xavi Hernández, FC Barcelona’s midfielder, was named the best Catalan athlete of the year, while Josep Guardiola was named best Catalan manager.

Barcelona starlet Marc Muniesa eyes first team place - Goal.com
Muniesa is well aware that he has a real task on his hands in trying to establish himself in Pep Guardiola's squad - but it is one that he is looking forward to. "Am I afraid? No, man, it's been a dream since childhood," the Spain Under-21 international told Sport. "It is a challenge, a very big challenge.

Mourinho: Title race isn't over - Yahoo! Eurosport
"There are still a lot of points in play, many games, and each one is difficult to win," Mourinho, who has won league titles in Portugal, England and Italy, said on Sunday. "They will get harder to win because from now on teams are fighting to avoid relegation and for the European places.

'We were robbed; the referee was on Real Madrid's side', says Levante defender Gustavo Cabral - Goal.com
"Here in Spain, a huge importance was given to the fact that Madrid could go 10 points clear of Barcelona," Cabral is quoted as saying by EFE. "The referee was on Madrid's side. There were many errors which hurt us and yes, we can say that we were robbed. "Iborra's sending off hurt us, it would have been a different match without that. Madrid piled the pressure on us with one more man on the pitch.

Nilmar 'happy' to stay at Villarreal after Sao Paulo deal collapsed - Goal.com
The 27-year-old forward was close to joining Sao Paulo in January after the Brazilian club agreed an €8 million deal with Villarreal. However, Nilmar failed to agree personal terms with the Brazilian giants, and he has now indicated that he is glad to be playing again for the Yellow Submarine.

Liga - Vela on target as Sociedad stun Sevilla - Yahoo! Eurosport
Real Sociedad's Carlos Vela and Ruben Pardo scored to spoil Michel's debut as the new Sevilla coach in a 2-0 La Liga victory. Former Real Madrid and Spain player Michel replaced Marcelino as Sevilla boss last week, but failed to make an immediate impact and the sliding Andalucians have now taken only two points from their last eight matches.

Javier Clemente given Sporting Gijon chance - ESPN Soccernet
Sporting Gijon have appointed former Spain boss Javier Clemente as their coach until the end of the season. Clemente takes over from Inaki Tejada, who was placed in temporary charge of the relegation-threatened Primera Division side following the departure of Manuel Preciado.