FC Barcelona News: 12 March 2012; Barça Win Against Racing Santander, Lionel Messi Reaches 50 Goal Mark this Season

Messi, a limitless goalscoring machine | FC Barcelona
The Argentinian genius continues to score goals. He grabbed a hat-trick in his last match for Argentina. He netted five times in the Champions League match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Tonight, he scored a brace at El Sardinero. With today’s two goals, Lionel Messi has reached 50 goals this season, 30 of which have been scored in the Liga.

Messi hits 30-goal mark in win over Racing - Yahoo! Eurosport
Fresh from his epic five-goal haul against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek, Lionel Messi scored the opening goal after half an hour in Cantabria before netting a second-half penalty. That spot-kick takes his league tally for the season to 30, drawing him two behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the 'Pichichi' top scorer award.

Guardiola: "It was a complete performance" | FC Barcelona
Even though, in general terms, Barça dominated the match against Racing Santander, Josep Guardiola said that the game required his players to "play a very serious match." According to the manager, his players had to put in a strong effort to take the three points seeing that the pitch at El Sardinero was not in good condition.

Barcelona director Zubizarreta: I do not see any similarities between Guardiola and Mourinho - Goal.com
"To be honest, I don't see how Guardiola is similar to Mourinho in this case," Zubizarreta was quoted as saying by Sport. The sporting director then went on to discuss the future of Guardiola at Camp Nou, and stressed that it is unlikely that there will be news about the successful coach's potential contract extension this week.

Cesc Fabregas: Humble Lionel Messi deserves success - ESPN Soccernet
Fabregas said of his team-mate: ''He's different to every other player in the world, and it's a pleasure to be able to able to play with him, to have him in the team, because he gives you this extra confidence that every champion team needs. He's a humble player, hard working, he loves football. He deserves everything that's happening to him.''

Spain working to clear debts - Yahoo! Eurosport
The Spanish government is working with the football league on a plan that would allow clubs to settle debts of 700 million euros (£586m) with the tax authorities and 600m (£502m) with the social security system. Secretary of State for Sport Miguel Cardenal, who was appointed after the centre-right People's Party won a general election late last year, told Marca sports daily the idea was to wipe out the debts and make sure they were never generated again.

Spain boss Del Bosque cautious ahead of Euro 2012 - Goal.com
Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque has admitted that he will not be taking anything for granted this summer when his side look to defend their European Championship title. The 61-year-old trainer has warned his players against complacency, and admits that it will be difficult for La Roja to win a third consecutive tournament.

Real Madrid La Liga record | LFP
Real Madrid continues as leaders in La Liga BBVA with their 3-2 victory against Pepe Mel´s Betis. Mourinho´s men have managed to set a new record for the team in white, in the entire history in La Liga, with 10 consecutive away wins. Real Madrid has continued to take three points every game ever since their seventh La Liga game at the Bernabéu and has bettered the run of 9 they had last season (2009-2010).

Athletic Bilbao lose to Osasuna - Yahoo! Eurosport
Athletic Bilbao came crashing back down to earth after their Europa League heroics as they lost 2-1 to local rivals Osasuna in La Liga. A ninth-minute own goal by Ander Iturraspe put the hosts on the front foot, and the lead was doubled just after the half-hour mark when Raul Garcia headed home from Francisco Punal's free kick into the box. Half-time substitute Fernando Llorente pulled one back just after the break.

Atletico and Espanyol win; Valencia held - Yahoo! Eurosport
Atletico Madrid and Espanyol climbed to seventh and eighth respectively in La Liga after home wins against Granada and Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Defender Miranda and striker Radamel Falcao scored in a 2-0 win for Atletico, while Nigerian forward Kalu Uche grabbed a hat-trick in Espanyol's 5-1 drubbing of Rayo. Valencia stayed in third but blew at 2-0 lead at Mallorca before drawing 2-2.

Brazil boss Mano Menezes: Neymar needs to move to Europe - ESPN Soccernet
Brazil coach Mano Menezes has said that he believes young star Neymar needs to move to Europe to fully develop his game and stay out of the spotlight off the pitch. "In relation to his environment, to feeling at home, it's good that he is staying," Menezes told O Globo. "But for a complete development, to gain more respect, it's important that he goes to Europe.