04.09.2011 10:53
Guardiola’s team’s poor record after early season Fifa break
Jesús Carrillo
Pep Guardiola’s team have suffered a couple of slip ups at the Camp Nou after the September international break in previous seasons, though they did win the only time they returned to face a game on the road.
It’s never easy for Barça – a team full of international stars – to bounce back
after the early season international break. Often the players don’t come back until the
Wednesday or Thursday before a game and with the Champions League Group stages also starting, Barça
frequently play their first game back- as is happening this season- on the Saturday, leaving
Guardiola and his coaching precious little time to prepare the team.
Home draw in 2008/09
After the team had unexpectedly failed to take the points in the opening game
against Numancia, Pep Guardiola went into his second league game in charge at the Camp Nou against
Racing. The late draw was a blow to the team, but they bounced back in the Champions League against
Sporting Lisbon and in Gijon against Sporting to set the foundations for the great treble winning
season.
Win at Getafe…..
There was no slip up the following season when Ibrahimovic and Messi scored the
goals to give Barça the points at Getafe.
…and defeat to Hercules
Ex- Barça man Esteban Vigo brought Hercules to the Camp Nou on September 11th last
season and two goals from Valdez gave them a shock win against a Barça team who were clearly still
weary from the game the previous Tuesday when eight of the Club’s Spanish World Cup winners
faced Argentina with Messi and Mascherano in Buenos Aires.
Fifteen players out
Once again this year the FIFA international dates have driven a large swathe
through the Barça squad, with 15 players in all - 14 first team and 1 B team member- missing from
training. Guardiola will not have a full squad again until Wednesday this week, leaving him just
three training sessions to prepare for the game in Anoeta against Real Sociedad.