15.04.2008 13:13
Berta Brau/Anna Segura
After a two-day holiday, the first team went back to training on Tuesday morning at La Masia as they prepare for two huge games at the Camp Nou, against Espanyol and Manchester Utd.
Starting with Saturday’s game with Espanyol, Barça have seven games to come in just three
weeks. Frank Rijkaard’s side trained today in the knowledge that there are some crunch
fixtures ahead of them both in La Liga and in the Champions League.
No sooner will the Espanyol match be over than Barça will be
getting ready to take on Manchester United on Wednesday April 23. There is more league action to
come the weekend after with Deportivo v Barça. On the 29th April comes the return leg of the
European semi final at Old Trafford, before Barça come back home to entertain Valencia and on the
weekend of May 4 they are off to the Bernabéu and Real Madrid, to be played midweek, and then on
May 10 or 11, it’s time for Barça v Mallorca.
Deco with the squad
The good news was the return of Deco to training. The midfielder is recovering well from his
leg injury and looked comfortable in today’s workout.
But missing from the Masia turf were Henry and Iniesta who did some running in the Camp Nou
as they recover from their own injury concerns. The injured Ronaldinho, Oleguer and Jorquera were
also away.
18 players at La Masia
Frank Rijkaard had 18 players to work with today. Zambrotta
arrived late because of problems with his flight, while Thuram stayed in the gym after his plane
had come in late as well.
Before training began, the whole squad congratulated Gaby Milito on the birth of his daughter
Luca on Sunday.
Under pressure
After warming up and passing the ball around, the players divided into three groups to work on
pressure situations. Abidal, Gudjohnsen, Touré, Puyol, Zambrotta, Sylvinho and Milito wore orange,
Eusebio, Deco and Márquez wore yellow, while strikers Eto'o, Giovani, Ezquerro, Xavi, Bojan,
Edmílson and Messi went without bibs.