Best team in first decade of 21st century/Mejor equipo en la primera decada del siglo 21

FC Barcelona is the best team in the first decade of the 21st century, according to data from the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). The nearest other Spanish League team is Real Madrid (8th).

The Top 10

1. FC Barcelona, 2,550 points 
2 . Manchester United, 2,523 
3. Liverpool, 2,414 
4. Arsenal, 2,410
5. Inter Milan, 2,358 
6. Bayern Munich, 2,315
7. AC Milan, 2,296
8. Real Madrid, 2,257 
9. Chelsea, 2,235 
10. Rome, 2,028

At the end of 2010, culminating in the winning of La Liga, FC Barcelona took over from Manchester United in first place in the classification. Manchester United topped the European rankings last year, leading FC Barcelona by 17 points, the ninth time in ten years that they had finished top. From second to first 
2010 saw considerable changes in the overall ranking of European clubs. The two Champions League finalists (Inter and Bayern) both moved up positions, displacing AC Milan. FC Barcelona won the Spanish League and overtook Manchester United at the death, and with a 27 point advantage. 13 titles Since the start of the 2st Century, FC Barcelona has had a brilliant track record, with 4 la Liga titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 1 King’s Cup, 1 World Club Cup, 1 European Super Cup and 4 Spanish Super Cups. 

A long way behind the struggle between Barcelona and Manchester United, are Liverpool, Arsenal and Inter. After FC Barcelona, the next ranked team in the Spanish league is Real Madrid, in 8th position. 

The Top 100 is made up of clubs from 24 countries: Spain (12), England (12), Italy (10), France (10), Germany (7), Netherlands (6), Portugal (4 ), Greece (4), Turkey (4), Russia (4).

Ronaldo say Goodbye/Ronaldo dice adios

  Rio de Janeiro-shore sand Hazime Tadashi; soccer World Cup (W Cup) Brazilian yuan in the past cited the highest total score 15 FW Ronaldo (34) July 14, a press conference in Sao Paulo, officially announced his retirement. 

"Has suffered injuries the past two years. Made me think of pain I retired," said Ronaldo is suffering from thyroid disease is reduced from four years ago, had become obvious fact difficult to manage weight was. Ronaldo was met with tears, "finished his career as a professional player. My football life is beautiful and wonderful," he said. Future course is uncertain after retirement.

Ronaldo played in the W Cup three times in the 2002 tournament include South Korea in the final two goals, helping Brazil win. Three-time winner of the FIFA player of the year. Active in Italy after AC Milan had to play back home from Corinthians in 2009. 

All 18 plus Thiago Arrives to London/Los 18 mas Thiago llegaron al Londres

Guardiola: “We both want the ball and suffer without it”/ "Ambos queremos el balon y ambos sufrimos sin El"

Pep Guardiola won’t be giving up on the team’s trademark style for the game against Arsenal, even though the team will be up against a side who share their attacking instincts.

Training in Barcelona

The squad gave up the chance to train in London this evening, as is usual in Champions League games, and Guardiola put his decision to have a session in Barcelona this morning instead because of the number of players he’s got who’ve been playing a lot of games of late: “I just wanted to train in Barcelona and not here”.

Andres Iniesta and Pep Guardiola both rushed off to the Emirates Stadium as soon as they arrived in England for their pre-match press conferences and the boss was quick to warn that his players were in for a tough game against a great team, as they tried to get back into Champions League gear again. Similar styles Guardiola admitted the Gunners were not his ideal opponents for the last 16: “I like watching Arsenal, but I’d rather not be playing against them. We are two teams who want the ball and we both suffer without it. We want possession for as long as possible in order to make as many attacking situations as we can”. Possession key With possession key, the boss insisted: “we have to be egotistical and want the ball. If Arsenal dominate, they will flood you with goal chances”, whilst making it clear that whatever happens: “you will see the Barça team that we have prepared before the game starts”. 

Echoing Iniesta, Guardiola also expressed his belief that the second leg would decide the game, whilst stressing: “scoring away from home is vital in Europe”. Back in the European groove After the two month break, the Champions League is again back on the agenda and Guardiola wants his players to get back into the European groove: “this is going to be a tough game and our ties at this stage in the last two seasons (against Lyon and Stuttgart) were our worst performances in the competition. We have to charge ourselves up for this to be the quickest to get into the swing of things. I hope that the atmosphere and the quality of our opponents will help us to do that”. 

Iniesta: “We are up against a very good team”/"Nos enfrentaremos ante un gran equipo"

Andrés Iniesta is set to play at the Emirates Stadium for the first time in his career on Wednesday and he believes: “Arsenal are a very good team and we will have to play really well to get a good result”.

Back in London

Iniesta will always be remembered for his winning goal in the Champions League semi final against Chelsea two years ago that saw the team through to the Rome final, but he insisted: “that’s water under the bridge now, two years ago it was one thing and now it’s another. The stadium is different and so are the circumstances of our team”.

Iniseta missed last year’s game against the London club, but he is clearly looking forward to this season’s matchup: “it should be a very attractive game and we hope to put in a good performance. They are a team you have to take notice of and we will have be very focussed and above all take our chances and at all times try and play our own style of football”. League on hold Iniesta stressed that: “we have changed our mindset now – we have to forget the draw in Gijon the other day - this is the Champions League!”. The World Cup winner was also not worried about which tactics Arsenal would employ: “regardless of what they do, we have to play our own football, stay concentrated the whole game and every one of us has to make sure we do what we are supposed to do, not make mistakes and create chances. We have to do our job just as well in attack as in defence, because we are up against a very serious and dangerous outfit”. 
Second leg will be decisive Iniesta also believes that: “nobody expects that the tie will be settled after Wednesday’s game. That will have to wait until the end of the second leg, which is when it will all be decided….. We have to take our chances and do things right to get a good result thanks to a whole team effort”.

Ibrahim Afellay Arrives to Camp Nou/Ibrahim Afellay llego a Camp Nou

Ibrahim Afellay takes the number 20 shirt

Afellay took his first steps onto the Nou Camp pitch as a Barça player this lunchtime, with his new number 20 shitr which he’ll wear from January 1st.

“I can’t wait to play with Messi and Iniesta”

Marc Guillén

In an interview with Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat Ibrahim Afellay talked about his arrival at the club and stressed the “good feeling” he’d had after his first contact with Guardiola, as well as how much the Stadium had impressed him.

What were your feelings after your first day at the Club?

“It was a great day for me. It was special –and very long too! There were a lot of medical tests. When I saw the Stadium it was a really special moment, it looked so big and beautiful”.

What does it mean to you to be a Barça player?

“Every player wants to play here at least once in their life and when I do, it’ll be like a dream come true”.

What’s your first memory of Barça?

“Players like Romário, Ronaldo, Koeman’s goal at Wembley…. and Cruyff of course, and others such as Cocu or Kluivert.”

How did you feel when you first heard Barça were interested in you?

“I was very happy. It was a special moment, my manager called me up and I told him straight away that Barça were my first option. The negotiations were very quick and everything went smoothly”.

Had you ever imagined you’d play for Barça?

“As a Barça fan, you watch the team as a kid and you imagine playing there, but as you get older you realise you have to be very special to be at this club”.

You joined the PSV first team when you were just 17, what was that like?

“Everything was new for me and it was tough at first, all my teammates were older and stronger than me”.

How would you describe your seven years at PSV? “So far it’s the only club I’ve played for. I went through the youth team and into the first team - it’s a big part of my life”.

Who has been the best coach you’ve ever had?

“There are a lot who have been important, but I would say the best has been Hiddink. He decided to bring me up into the first team squad and I am still in contact with him. Above all, Hiddink showed me how to live as a professional, because football is a very hard job, from the outside it can seem very nice, but there is a lot of hard work involved”.

Do you consider yourself mature at the age of 24?

“Yes. I’m still young, but I’ve played a lot of games. I’ve been to a European Championship and I was at the last World Cup. All that experience has been good for me”.

Have you been following Barça this season?

“Yes, and for a long time now. Barça play the best football in the world. Obviously, since the first contact was made, I’ve been taking a much closer interest too”.

What do you think when you see games like the Real Madrid clash?

“I thought ‘I want to be there – that’s how I want to play’”

Many say that was the best game ever, would you agree? “Yes, I would, though the 2-6 at the Bernabeu was also a great game – in both matches Barça played football from another planet”.

How do you think you will adapt to the team?

“I’ll work hard and do my best. It won’t be easy at first, but I’ll do everything I can to win a place in the team”.

You are a versatile player. What’s your favourite position?

“I can play in a lot of positions. I have lots of options in midfield. It’s up to the boss where he uses me and wherever that is I will try and do my best”.

What was your first conversation with Josep Guardiola like? “Positive. He welcomed me to the club and he transmitted a good feeling”.

What do you think about being able to ply with players like Iniesta or Messi – some people have compared you to Iniesta.

“They are the best in the world. I can’t wait to play with them. I can’t compare with Iniesta, he has so much quality. Every player is different and has his own points”.

What has impressed you about Barça so far? “Undoubtedly, the Stadium. I’d never been here and, well it’s majestic and on TV it looks great, but in person it’s so big it just leaves you open mouthed”.

Leo Messi, the star of the campaign "We look for the 10 'on Facebook/Leo Messi, protagonista de la campaña 'Buscamos el 10' en Facebook

FC Barcelona is closing in on 10 million Facebook fans and the Club is working to strengthen ties with its supporters throughout the world through social networks. Leo Messi is the latest star to join up and support the club’s efforts.

Fans from all over the world have made Barça the leading club on Facebook , with nearly 10 million fans it is just ahead of Manchester United. In order to give an impulse to the attempts to beat the 10 million mark, the Club is launching a campaign starring Leo Messi – “ We Want 10!”. 
In the promotional video to accompany the campaign, Messi urges fans to “ Join the Barça Facebook”. The video aims to reach as many fans as possible throughout the world to get them to help the Club reach that 10 million mark and Messi is just the first of a series of players who will be assisting the campaign. Leaders 

FC Barcelona occupies a leading place in sporting social networks and the Club has made a firm commitment to these new communication channels. This is reflected in the leading role the Club has in the most important 2.0 applications, with9.017.000 fans on its official Facebook channel, 939.000 followers on the various Twitter channels and 62.000 subscribers on You Tube . Relationship with the fans 
More than the record numbers, the Club is interested n these social networks as a means to create a relationship with Barça fans throughout the world, who are able to express their opinions every day on the official Facebook page and on via the #fcblive hashtag on Twitter. 

The Twitter hashtag for this campaign will be #messi10, and is a way to follow all the latest reactions to the video .