13.10.2010 11:28

Barça on international duty

Roger Bogunyà

FC Barcelona had no less than 14 players on international duty over the past week and below is an outline of how each one performed for their respective teams.

► Valdés: Did not play at all for Spain and was on the bench for the game against Scotland in Glasgow on Tuesday.

► Piqué: Play all 180 minutes for Spain in their two games against Lithuania and Scotland. Was unfortunate to score an own goal in the game against the Scots before the visitors eventually won.

► Puyol: Partnered Piqué in the centre of Spain’s defence in both international matches. The Barça skipper played well and was not at fault for any of the goals conceded in Salamanca or Glasgow.

► Sergio Busquets: Started in Spain’s two matches and was a key member of the team as they won six more points towards qualifying for Euro 2012. Carlos Marchena replaced him against Scotland in the second half.

► Iniesta: In the absence of Xavi the Blaugrana midfielder became Spain’s chief playmaker and he capped his fine performances with a goal against Scotland.

► Villa: His penalty against Scotland saw him equal Raúl’s record as Spain’s all-time top goalscorer with 44 to his name. He also played well against Lithuania but a post denied him adding to his tally.

► Alves: Impeccable at the back and going forward as Brazil did not concede any goals against Iran or Ukraine, while he found the net in both matches.

► Bojan: Started for the Spain Under-21 side in their European Championships 2011 qualifier against Croatia.

► Jeffren: Scored against Croatia and after coming on for the last half hour of Spain Under-21’s games as he replaced Bojan in both legs.

► Thiago: Seen as the architect of the Under-21 team’s attacking moves as he played all 90 minutes against Croatia.

► Fontàs: The Barça B central defender did not appear in the first leg for Spain Under-21s, but played 15 minutes in the return game when he replaced Rubén Pérez.