FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.08.2007 18:08

Six out of six

Jordi Clos

FC Barcelona's victory against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena meant that they were victorious in all six of their pre-season friendlies.

Having won both matches during the week-long stay in Scotland, the team also won all three encounters on the tour of the Far East. Leo Messi's goal in Gemany was enough to maintain that 100 per cent record. The first league game of the season is the Blaugrana's next game when they take on Racing Santander in El Sardinero on the weekend of August 26. Three days later the final friendly game of the summer takes place when Inter participate in the Trofeo Gamper.

Krkic shines in Scotland

Barça began pre-season training on July 21 and just two days later travelled to Scotland, where they were able to work in perfect conditions in St. Andres. The two friendly games brought victories as Frank Rijkaard's team defeated Dundee United 0-1 and Hearts 1-3. The trip was a success as Thierry Henry scored his first goal for the club and 16-year-old Bojan Krkic showed just why he is so highly rated with impressive performances.

Dos Santos stands out

The squad then travelled to Asia and continued their winning run. After beating Beijing Guoan 0-3 in China, Yokohama Marinos were defeated 0-1 in Japan. The final match of the trip saw Barça win 0-4 against the Mission Hill XI.

While Krkic was not available for the Far East tour as he was called up by Spain for the Under-17 World Championships, Giovani Dos Santos took the limelight as he became the club's top goalscorer in pre-season. Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o also enjoyed their first taste of playing alongside each other in Barça colours.

Finishing in Munich

After returning from Asia, Leo Messi, Gabriel Milito and Rafa Márquez teamed up with the squad and were included in the squad for the trip to Munich for the Franz Beckenbauer Cup game against Bayern. The match also doubled as a testimonial for Mehmet Scholl, but Barça showed their class and won 0-1 thanks to a stunning strike from Messi.

There are only two other teams in the Spanish top flight that have recorded 100 per cent records in pre-season as Villarreal have won all seven of their games and Athletic Bilbao have managed six consecutive wins.

Racing and Inter next

The game against Bayern is considered to be the final pre-season friendly before the league kicks off on the weekend of August 26 when Barça travel to El Sardinero to take on Racintg Santander. Just three days after that game, Barça will take on Serie A champions Internazionale in Camp Nou in the annual Trofeo Joan Gamper game.