05.09.2010 13:49

Four untouchables

Sandra Sarmiento

Maxwell, Keita, Abidal and Dani Alves have all played the full 270 minutes of Barca’s three official games this season, an indication of their importance for Guardiola for the campaign ahead.

With the season just underway and with at least 45 more games to go, four first team players can boast a 100% presence in Guardiola’s teams so far - Maxwell, Keita, Abidal and Dani Alves played in both legs of the Spanish Super Cup and the league win in Santander.

Maxwell and Keita first back from break

Maxwell and Keita both began pre-season training on July 19th and were clearly looking close to full match fitness for the first leg of the Super Cup against Seville on August 14th . The Brazilian has figured as a full back and as a winger so far– as Guardiola has said of him “ he attacks well and defends even better”, whilst Keita has looked comfortable whether partnering youngster Oriol Romeu or veteran World Cup winner Xavi.

Abidal and Alves

Abidal cut short his post South Africa holidays to join up with the Barca pre-season and after a horrific summer with the French team, he seems to have recovered since his return to the Barca family. He has figured at centre half in all three games so far and shown a great spirit of sacrifice for the good of the group as a whole.

Dani Alves has already shown just what a ball of energy he is, joining the squad in time for the trip to Asia, which he left early in order to fly half way round the globe to play with the Brazil team and then arriving in Barcelona with hardly any time to train, he played the full 90 minutes of the first leg clash with Seville. If he keeps fit and free of injuries, Dani is a phenomenally strong player, who should be a major figure in the team’s season this campaign.