FC Barcelona News: 4 February 2012; Eric Abidal Signs New Contract, Must Win Game Today Against Sociedad

Abidal: "Barça is my second family" | FC Barcelona
On Friday at 13.00, Éric Abidal signed a new contract with FC Barcelona. The Frenchman and the president of FC Barcelona Sandro Rosell sealed the agreement in the club offices, also in the presence of the vice president for sport Josep Maria Bartomeu and the director of the Sports Area Andoni Zubizarreta.

Guardiola: "We know we are in an extreme situation" | FC Barcelona
The team is seven points adrift from the top in La Liga and they cannot let anymore points slip by. Pep Guardiola was very clear in today’s pre-game press conference: "I will ask the players to be who they have been in the past. We know we’re almost past the point of no return. It’s not a time for words, it’s time to play the best we possibly can and win, taking it one game at a time."

Focused on Real Sociedad | FC Barcelona
This Friday, FC Barcelona completed their penultimate training session before the match against Real Sociedad. Pep Guardiola worked with 15 first-team footballers and three youngsters from Barça B (Jonathan dos Santos, Cristian Tello and Sergi Roberto).

Cup, Liga and Champions league on the horizon | FC Barcelona
They say January is one of the hardest months. It involves league matches every weekend and potentially as many as three rounds of cup games in between. But February could be considered even tougher, because with Barça still alive in all three major competitions, there are six highly demanding fixtures ahead.

Barcelona's Thiago Alcantara: No one should talk about referees - Goal.com
Barca coach Pep Guardiola spoke out in his players' defence, but another one of his charges has now stated that the match officials should remain a taboo subject. "No one should talk about referees. You lose the essence of football when it comes to referees. You have to talk about good football," Thiago said during a press conference.

Thermal blanket for the pitch at the Camp Nou to combat the freezing temperatures | FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona installed a thermal blanked over the Camp Nou’s pitch to prevent the grass from freezing before the match against Real Sociedad. The temperature is expected to drop below zero tonight in the Catalan capital. The thermal blanket will allow the pitch to keep a temperature of three or four degrees.

Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi ... at least when it comes to taking penalties - Goal.com
The comparisons are constant, the debate ceaseless. But there is now little left to support the theory that Lionel Messi isn't the finest footballer on the planet. The astonishing Argentine is the main man in the best Barcelona side of all time, has been mentioned in the same breath as the game's greatest players and has just claimed his third successive Ballon d'Or.

Chelsea boss wary of Mourinho talk - Yahoo! Eurosport
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has admitted he and every top Premier League manager would be looking over their shoulders if Jose Mourinho left Real Madrid this summer.Villas-Boas was relaxed about a report suggesting Mourinho would be interested in returning to Stamford Bridge were the self-styled 'Special One' to cut his ties with the Spanish giants.

Ancelotti keen on Kaka | Sky Sports
Carlo Ancelotti would be delighted to work with Kaka again at Paris St Germain, but admits a striker will be his top priority in the summer. Real Madrid playmaker Kaka is among those reported to be on Ancelotti's wish list, with the Italian having worked with the Brazilian during their time together at AC Milan.

Yellow Submarine in danger of becoming a memory in Spanish topflight football - Soccer |monitor.co.ug
Cause of their woes: Villarreal’s demise started in earnest the day coach Emmanuel Pellegrini was enticed by Florentino Perez’s second Galactico project. It was Pellegrini who masterminded success on a shoestring budget. The unfortunate reality about history is that only winners are recalled vividly in sport.