FC Barcelona News: 9 February 2012; Barça Beat Valencia, Will Play Athletic Bilbao in Copa del Rey Final

Barcelona 2-0 Valencia (3-1 agg) | guardian.co.uk
The figure just keeps on rising. Barcelona reached the Copa del Rey final with a 2-0 victory over Valencia at the Camp Nou – their third Spanish Cup final in four seasons under Pep Guardiola. It is their 12th final overall. And although there were occasional nerves and Valencia had chances and were not finally defeated until Xavi Hernández's goal 15 minutes from the end, ultimately Barcelona progressed smoothly 2-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

Barça to play in their 36th Cup final | FC Barcelona
Barça managed to knock Valencia out of the competition and qualify for its 36th Cup final. The Catalans will face off against Athletic Club, the team with the second most Cup trophies. The final will be a repeat match of the 2009 championship game, where the team claimed the first of their 13 titles under Guardiola by beating the Basque side 1-4.

Guardiola: "We competed more than ever" | FC Barcelona
Josep Guardiola highlighted his squad’s performance both in Mestalla last Wednesday and at the Camp Nou tonight: "in Valencia we played an extraordinary game, and today we did it again. We generated a lot of football, with an almost infinite amount of plays. Save the first minutes of each half, when we could go at them we had the game and we didn’t let it slip away."

Cesc Fàbregas: "This is one of the best games I've played since I arrived at FC Barcelona" | FC Barcelona
Joy was pervasive in the Barça dressing room after the match against Valencia. Cesc Fàbregas, the man that scored the first goal of the game, said: "this is one of the best games I’ve played since I came here. We too this match seriously and we proved that on the pitch. It has been a beautiful night."

Guardiola has led his team to a dozen finals | FC Barcelona
Barça obtained their ticket to their 12th final since Guardiola took charge of the first team after beating out Valencia in the semifinals of the King’s Cup. As was the case in 2009, Athletic Club is the other Cup finalist. That was the first final out of 11 that Guardiola has played in his three and a half years at Barça. His record isn’t bad, he’s led his team to 10 victories and only 1 defeat.

FCB-Athletic Club, three years later | FC Barcelona
It was May 13th, 2009. Barça was close to claiming the Liga crown and the team had booked a spot in the finals of the Champions League and the Cup. It was the Cup final, at Mestalla, when Barça started its historic treble bid. Athletic Club, their first final in 24 years, scored the first goal through Toquero. But Barça fought back to claim the title with fantastic football and goals from Toure, Messi, Bojan and Xavi.

Athletic Bilbao bids farewell to the historical San Mamés Stadium - Sid Lowe - SI.com
The send-off was fitting -- fitting for Athletic and even for Mirandés, the miraculous opponents. Mirandés were handed a standing ovation at the end of the game; the two goals they scored -- the only two Athletic have conceded at home in the competition -- were applauded too. There had also been an ovation for the visitors' captain Pablo Infante -- the Pichichi of the Cup -- when he laid a bouquet of red flowers in front of the bust of Pichichi before the game.

Europe's top clubs defy economic gloom - Yahoo! Eurosport
Revenue at Europe's 20 leading clubs has increased again despite the economic crisis shaking many countries across the continent, business advisory firm Deloitte said in a report.Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona maintain the top two slots in Deloitte's Football Money League, followed by Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Chelsea, the report said, based on revenue for the 2010-11 season.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo buys himself a Lamborghini for his birthday - report - Goal.com
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly bought himself a Lamborghini to celebrate his birthday. The Portugal international turned 27 on Sunday and treated himself to a special edition Aventador LP700-4 worth €340,000 to mark the occasion, according to Marca.

Real Madrid set sights on Villarreal midfielder Borja Valero - report - Goal.com
Borja Valero could be on his way out of Villarreal at the end of the 2011-12 campaign as Real Madrid have shown an interest in signing the midfielder in the summer transfer window, El Mundo Deportivo reports. Valero is a product of the Madrid youth academy, but never managed to break into the first team at los Blancos.

Official: Korean club Ulsan Hyundai announce loan deal for Mallorca's Akihiro Ienaga - Goal.com
Japan international Akihiro Ienaga has left Spanish La Liga club Mallorca to join K-League outfit Ulsan Hyundai on a one-year loan. The 25-year-old Japanese midfielder, who joined Mallorca in December 2010 on a five-year deal, had struggled for opportunities with the Islander club this term.