29.08.2008 11:48
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Between September 1 and 12, Barça will be missing a host of international players. In fact, the only first team players Guardiola will have will be Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Víctor Sánchez, Sylvinho and Eto’o.
The international games being played on September 5 and 10 will deny Barça of the bulk of the squad
for 12 days. Apart from the injured Milito and Jorquera, 15 of the 21 members of the first team
will be away on international duty.
Xavi, Puyol and Iniesta, with Spain
The new Spanish manager, Vicente del Bosque, has named his squad for South
Africa 2010 World Cup qualifying games. Xavi Hernàndez, Carles Puyol and Andrés Iniesta have all
been named. On the 6th Spain face Bosnia in Murcia, and four days later, on the 10th, they are in
Albacete against Armenia.
Abidal and Henry, with France
After not being named for the friendly against Sweden, France have renamed Éric Abidal for
the two games against Austria and Serbia. The Barça full back will not be able to play on the 5th,
however, due to a suspension he has yet to serve following a yellow card in the European
Championship.
The other Barcelona player in the list announced by Raymond Domenech is Thierry Henry.
Many kilometres
There will be longer journeys in store for Rafa Márquez,
Martín Cáceres and Leo Messi. Mexico have to play Jamaica and Canada, Uruguay take on Colombia and
Ecuador, while Argentina’s opponents are Paraguay and Peru. All three players leave Barcelona
on September 1 and will be due back on the 12th.
Alexander Hleb and Eidur Gudjohnsen also have two matches. Belarus play Ukraine and Andorra,
and Iceland are up against Norway and Scotland.
One game for Africans
Barça’s two African players have just one game ahead of them. Touré Yaya and the Ivory
Coast face Mozambique, while Mali and Seydou Keita play Congo.