President Sandro Rosell expects to be standing for re-election to the FC Barcelona presidency when members go to the polls in 2016. He made his announcement at the Senate meeting on Monday at midday in the brand new Auditorium 1899. “My intention is to stand for re-election and ask the members to keep their confidence in my ability to deal with the challenges we have set ourselves” he said.

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Rosell is looking forward to the challenges of the present and future. “Together we have to build the future that Barça deserves. We want to continue being a club that sets standards through its playing style, its management system, its values, because of its concern for its nation and because it helps children and young people. We want to keep growing. We are on the right track and we are very excited about the present and the future ahead”, said the Barça president.

“Tito and Abidal, triumphs of life”

The president also told the Senate about developments in different areas of the Club, including sporting achievements. “This year we have won something more important than any trophy. We are convinced that this has been a very special one”, he commented. “The recovery of our manager, Tito Vilanova, and the return of Abidal to active football have provoked emotions that are as intense as or even more intense than anything any title can bring. These have been triumphs of life, victories that reward the struggles of human beings that reach beyond the boundaries of sport”.

He added that “the strength that this team has shown is out of this world. They have all warmed our hearts and now we are on the verge of being rewarded for our perseverance and determination, a League title that, if we get it, will be one of the most special in Club history … a League that will be our fourth in five years and that will certify this period in which Barça have dominated Spanish football”.

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We are on the verge of being rewarded for our perseverance and determination, a League title that, if we get it, will be one of the most special in Club history

In his speech, Rosell also mentioned basketball player Pete Mickeal, who will miss the rest of the season through illness.

One of the main aims of Sandro Rosell and his Board of Directors was to restructure the club’s economy. “With much effort and along the lines of austerity and cost reductions, we have been readdressing the situation” said a president who was pleased to say that following a year of record profits, “this year we are on the right track, but our challenge is still to reduce our debt”. He expects the season to end with Barça “less than 300 million” in the red. “The objective is to reach the end of this mandate with a debt of around 200 million, a sustainable figure”. The idea is not to be dependent on banks and to be able to cover investments in new assets, such as the future Camp Nou and Palau.

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Still talking on financial issues, Rosell ended by saying that “we will need to make certain sacrifices and to find strong and solvent sponsors … There is no doubt that our agreement with Qatar Sports Investments has played a key role in improving our economic situation”.

FC Barcelona took advantage of the match on Saturday against Levante to celebrate Sant Jordi Day – official celebrations start this Tuesday. As is tradition, the Social Area of the Club gave out roses to the female fans and members that entered the Camp Nou. President Sandro Rosell and vice-president of the Social Area, Jordi Cardoner, passed out the first 2,500 roses at the tents located on the grandstand’s esplanade.

Catalan authors and writers

In addition to the roses, FC Barcelona also celebrated what’s become a tradition at the Club during Sant Jordi Day, “Letters on the pitch!” President Sandro Rosell hosted eleven Catalan authors and writers in the Presidential Box of the Camp Nou. The Minister of Culture of the Generalitat, Ferran Mascarell, and the Director of the Institute of Catalan Literature, Laura Borràs, were also in attendance.

Tribute to Savador Espriu

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Salvador Espriu’s birth, and FC Barcelona, a collaborator for the Año Espriu [Year Espriu], paid homage to the Catalan author. Before the match against Levante, the Club displayed a large canvas that commemorated the author’s birth. In addition, the fans were treated to the poem ‘Inici del càntic en el temple,’ which was read by the actor Sergi López and shown on the Camp Nou’s video screens.

Coinciding with the tribute to Espriu, the Club invited Mercè, Francesc and Sebastià Bonet, niece and nephews of the author, and the mayors of Santa Coloma de Farners, where the author was born, and Arenys de Mar, the village where he spent most of his life, to the Presidential box.

The hour of truth has arrived for the professional teams at FC Barcelona. The end of the season is approaching and now there is a lot at stake in almost every match. Over the next seven days, the football, basketball, handball, roller hockey and futsal teams all have decisive matches.

Bayern and Bilbao for the football team

The football team has two big matches this week. On Tuesday they have the first 90 minutes of their Champions League semi final with Bayern Munich. The venue is the Allianz Arena and a good result will hold them in good stead for a place in the Wembley 2013 final.

Four days later they have the first chance to clinch the Liga title, provided they beat Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid lose the derby with Atlético Madrid at the Calderón. Saturday also marks Barça’s last ever visit to the historic San Mamés stadium before it is demolished.

[+] Bayern Munich v FC Barcelona, Tuesday April 23 at 20.45 (TV3 and La 1)

[+] Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona, Saturday April 27 at 18.00 (GolT and Canal+ Liga)

Basketball team also aiming for London

After taking the series into game five following their impressive win at Panathinaikos, Barça Regal can now seal passage into the Euroleague Final Four with a win on Thursday at the Palau Blaugrana. The famous magic of the Palau will be needed once again to ensure they make it to the final at the O2 in London.

And the week closes on Sunday with the clásico away to Real Madrid.

[+] FCB Regal v Panathinaikos, Thursday April 25 at 20.45 (Esport3)

[+] Real Madrid v FCB Regal, Sunday April 28 at 12.00 (Esport3)

Handball side seeks League title and Euro comeback

Barça Intersport also have a cracking week ahead. On Tuesday, the Asobal leaders could clinch the title outright by winning away to Ademar.

Securing that title would be an excellent way to prepare for the Champions League quarter final against Atlético Madrid. They need to make up a six-point deficit in order to reach the final stages in Cologne, but with the Palau behind them, anything is possible.

[+] Reale Ademar v FCB Intersport, Tuesday April 23 at 21.00 (Sportmania)

[+] FCB Intesport v Atlético Madrid, Saturday April 27 at 19.00 (Esport3)

Barça Alusport seeking second European crown

The futsal team could become champions of Europe this week. The side coached by Marc Carmona start the UEFA Futsal Cup on Friday in Tbilisi (Georgia), a title they won for the first time last year. In the semis they’ll meet Kairat Almaty, and if they reach Sunday’s final the opposition will be the winner of the game between Iberia Star and MFK Dinamo.

[+] Kairat Almaty v FCB Alusport, Friday April 26 at 18.30 (Esport3)

[+] Final, Sunday April 28 at 18.30

Hockey clásico at the Palau

The Palau Blaugrana is not only hosting massive handball and basketball games this week, but also on Friday there’s a top roller hockey encounter in the OK Liga between two of the giants of the sport, FC Barcelona and Reus Deportiu.

[+] FC Barcelona v Reus Deportiu, Friday April 26 at 21.00 (Barça TV)

The Barça Toons are back to usher in Sant Jordi Day. Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and company pass out roses and literature at the Camp Nou to Barça fans before they deal with the always dangerous dragon that haunts the pitch!

FC Barcelona won’t be alone when they take on Bayern Munich this evening as 2,783 Barça fans will accompany the Blaugrana at the Allianz Arena.

The Löwenbräukeller, the meeting point

The local FC Barcelona Supporters Club, Bayerischer PB, have taken the fans that made the trip from Barcelona under their wing. The meeting point is the Löwenbräukeller, the biergarten of Löwenbräu, one of the six official sites for this year’s Oktoberfest.

Fans will gather at this historic location, which is located in the center of Munich - in the Stiglmaierplatz - before this evening’s match. The Löwenbräukeller features an open air terrace which has a capacity of 800 people, where starting at 14.00 the Barça fans will be able to enjoy the famous German beer and enjoy the Bavarian cuisine.

To get to the Löwenbräukeller, fans can take the U1 metro line and get off at the Stiglmaierplatz stop. The Löwenbräukeller is also accessible by tram - lines 20 and 21.

Sant Jordi in the heart of Munich

The Círculo Catalán in Munich will install a stand at Rosen Strasse 1-5, next to the Marienplatz, to celebrate Sant Jordi Day. Roses will be given out from 15.30 to 19.30.

Official dinner with the Bayerischer PB

On Monday evening, thirty members of the attended the official dinner organised by the Bayerischer PB. Josep M. Barnils, FCB Social Commission director, thanked the Supporters Club and he encouraged the attendees to “continue expanding Barcelonismo throughout the land.” Barnils also said that they were “Barça’s ambassadors” in Germany.

FC Barcelona has won one of the National Sports Awards for 2012 presented by the Superior Council for Sport (CSD). They have collected the Copa Stadium, which is awarded to as person or club that has made an outstanding contribution over the year to promoting and fostering sport.

The winners were announced on Thursday. The jury, chaired by David Villaverde, is formed by different representatives of the CSD, the Spanish Olympic Committee, sports federations, regional governments, local corporations, the media and famous sportspeople.

Other CSD award winners include Olympic medallists Joel González and Marina Alabau, Atlético Madrid’s Radamel Falcao and València Bàsquet.

After the Franz Beckenbauer’s statements were published in the German daily ‘Bild’, FC Barcelona contacted Bayern Munich, who relayed the following message from their honorary president:

“I apologize if my comments were misunderstood. I only said that Barça will do what it can to get to the final, but not by illegal means. When I say they will use everything they have at their disposal I’m referring to putting pressure of their rival, something that’s normal on the pitch, it’s something that I used to do as a player and during my time as a manager. Barça are one of the biggest and most honest clubs in the world and they have all my admiration. I’m convinced that ‘fair play’ will preside over the match on Wednesday. The two teams will do everything possible to get to the final, and that’s what I meant to say.”

Club members and fans who want to watch the Champions League semi-final between FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou can still purchase tickets to the game. Tickets will be available on the Club’s website and Ticketmaster up until kick off. Club members can purchase up to two tickets, with a 5% discount on the first.

Ticket availability is dependent on the amount of seats freed up by the Seient Lliure programme, thus availability will vary up until kick off.

Tickets FCB-BAYERN

- Tito Vilanova press conference

- Shakria and Pique supports Barça Regal

- Historical goals at San Mames

- Barça Legends: Guillermo Amor

- Messi trains before Bayern munich match

- Happy Sant Jordi's Day

- Five best goals of Barça's academy

- Handball team celebrates Spanish League title

- Iniesta: "We need to pick ourselves up and get back to the league"

Sandro Rosell talked to the press after Barça’s elimination from the Champions League. “The first thing I need to do is congratulate Bayern, they were clearly the superior side in the tie. We have reached the semi-finals for six consecutive years. I am very proud of what these players have done,” said the FC Barcelona president.

Rosell went on to say that “perhaps the aggregate score is a bit exaggerated but that doesn’t mean that they were not superior. I believe this Bayern are the strongest team in Europe and they have a good chance of winning the final.”

Stands by his team

“We’ll evaluate at the end of the season. What we have to do now it support the players and stand by their side until the end of the season. Once the season comes to an end there will be time to make decisions,” said Rosell, who added: “we have to focus on La Liga, we haven’t won it yet. We have to work towards achieving this goal.”

Messi’s absence is noticeable

When asked about Leo Messi’s absence against Bayern, the Barça president echoed the words used by Tito Vilanova in this regard: “if the best player in the world isn’t on the pitch, it’s noticeable.” He added: “at any rate, I am very proud of all of the players, managers, members and fans. They proved that they know how to win and how to lose.”

The FC Barcelona president said that he stands with Tito Vilanova in regards to the decision made to not use Messi: “if they decided that he shouldn’t play, it was a purely technical decision. Nothing else to say.”

José Edmílson was the guest of honour in the Camp Nou’s presidential box during the game between FC Barcelona and Betis this evening. The ex-Barça player, who featured for the team from 2004 through 2008, received a tribute of gratitude from the Club for his service to the team. President Sandro Rosell awarded a framed picture of the triumphant Barça side that won the Champions League in 2006 in Paris to the Brazilian.

The ex-defender, who was visibly touched by the gift, spoke to Barça TV after the match: “this gift is very touching, I spent four years here and I experienced both good and bad times. But I’m very pleased that I got to play for Barça. Football and titles are forgotten but friends and people stay in your life. I’m very pleased with the tribute.”

Carles Puyol was in attendance at the commemorative ceremony for Miki Roqué, who passed away last year after battling cancer. A personal friend to the first team captain, Puyol represented FC Barcelona along with Club director and vice president of the FC Barcelona Foundation, Ramon Pont.

During the ceremony a plaque commemorating the memory of Miki Rodqué was unveiled in the Parque del Pinell de Tremp, which gives access to the football pitch of Pedrasanta. In addition to FC Barcelona, the ceremony was attended by representatives and footballers from Betis, Liverpool, Lleida, Xerez Cartagena and Oldham Athletic. All of the clubs' crests feature on the commemorative plaque.

FC Barcelona has added an eighth language to its website: www.fcbarcelona.co.id. The inclusion of Indonesian implies a major step forward for the Club, which is continuing to expand its global presence, thus fostering links between Barça supporters wherever they might be in the world.

Following the recent complete revamp of the website, this latest language is yet another example of the club’s desire to promote itself to every corner of the globe. As well as versions in Catalan, Spanish and Catalan, the Japanese version was completely restructured this year, and Chinese, Arabic and French versions were created. Eight languages go to show how broad the global dimension of FC Barcelona is becoming, and its digital presence is already widely respected in the international community. Some 33 million page visits are made by more than 7.6 million single users every month.

The most global club

"We have always worked with the intention of creating a close bond between the Club and its supporters, and this Indonesian site is yet another example of this. Considering the passion for Barça in Indonesia, it was an obligation for us to create this website said Didac Lee, the director responsible for new technologies. “We are very happy to be able to address our Indonesian fans in their own language.”

New twitter: @fcbarcelona_id

Along with the launch of this latest language, the Club has also opened a new Twitter account in Indonesian: @fcbarcelona_id to offer fans a new tool to get the very latest Barça updates in their own language. Barça already has more than 16 million followers in the world of 140 character messages, spread across eight active accounts: @fcbarcelona @fcbarcelona_cat @fcbarcelona_es @fcbarcelona_fra @fcbarcelona_jap @fcbarcelona_ara. Indonesia has always been one of the most active countries in terms of participation in Barcelona’s social networks. No fewer than 9.3% of the fans of Barça’s official Facebook page are Indonesian (3.9 million out of the current total of 42 million users).

The Camp Nou was drenched in red this Wednesday evening as 1,500 Indonesians, who are visiting Barcelona on an incentives trip organised by Prudential Indonesia, toured the Club’s installations. The group gathered at the Camp Nou and enjoyed dinner in FC Barcelona’s stadium.

The Prudential Indonesia employees then visited the FC Barcelona Museum, the stands at the Camp Nou and the FCBotiga.

Prestigious brand

Incentives trips are organised by corporations to reward or motivate their employees. This trip, one of the biggest the city has ever hosted, was borne out of the collaborative agreement between the Catalan Tourism Agency and Prudential, an international insurance company.

It’s clear that Barça figures among the highlights the city has to offer and the 1,500 Indonesians didn’t miss their chance to get a first-hand look at the Club’s facilities. The group also visited other emblematic city sites, like Parc Güell, the Sagrada Familia and Montserrat.

According to the Guardia Urbana the 2012/13 league champions parade through the streets of Barcelona attracted more than half a million people. In addition to the Barça fans who lined the streets of the city to celebrate with the first team players on Monday, we have add the hundreds of thousands of FC Barcelona followers who joined in the festivities on FC Barcelona’s official online channels.

More than 400,000 people followed the champions parade on Barça’s official channels, mainly on the Club’s website and the team’s official YouTube channel, which broadcast the event in Catalan, Spanish and English. In fact, the website saw an increase of 130% over the average traffic rate it sees on Mondays.

The live streaming of the event wasn’t the only content that interested FC Barcelona fans during yesterday’s festivities as many sent in photographs of the parade itself or of their own celebration from every part of the world. All of the photos can be viewed on the content special #campionsFCB, which can be found the Club’s official website.

The league title celebrations also spilled over to social media as 1,031,560 mentions of the hashtag #campionsFCB hit Twitter between Sunday and Monday evening. In fact, the highest volume of mentions came on Sunday just before midnight when the match against Atlético Madrid had finished.

LIGA PARADE 2012/13

FC Barcelona have launched a new application, FCB Capball – a football game with caps which lets Barça fans enjoy a new digital experience. With FCB Capball , the classic children’s game has been re-invented and with this new version, users can train and manage a team over a whole season.

This multi-player game allows users to compete in an innovative league system, where they can manage a team picked from a data base of more than 1,000 players from the history of the Club. Every player has their own characteristics and users can consult this via a historic profile which contains the most important information about the player. Each cap also has its own characteristics o the pitch, which can be improved through training and can wear any of the Club’s historic kits since 1899.

FCB Capball is a free app and is available in iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and is currently available in Catalan, Spanish, English and Chinese.

The Club’s Director of New Technologies, Dídac Lee, explained: “in line with the Club’s strategy to become leaders in football mobile apps, FCB Capball is a result of the FCB Apps Programme, which guarantees quality products and also gives entrepreneurs a great opportunity”.

FCB Capball is the second app to have emerged from the FCB Apps Programme – following the FCB Fitness app – which was launched by FC Barcelona together with Barcelona Digital, who have worked the Club in the technical definition and coordination of the programme, and is aimed at developers and companies with a mobile app already up and running or in the development stage who want to market it through the Barça brand.

FCB CAPBALL

On Thursday, FC Barcelona received the ‘FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence’ certificate in recognition of its Medical Services – thus becoming the first club to ever receive the accolade. Jiri Dvorak, chief of the FIFA medical services, presented the award to Barça at an event that was also attended by president Sandro Rosell and the chief of the medical area, Jordi Monés.
“We want to thank FIFA for recognising our good work. FIFA and ourselves have many things in common, one of these being injury prevention. This is recognition of a job that we have been doing naturally, without being studied. It is the commitment to persistence, because we have had to renew the system every five years”, commented Monés.

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Dream come true

Then one of the most important and influential people in the entire history of the Medical Services, Miquel Albanell, looked back over its history and described what this award means. “My dream has come true. It means a lot to be a doctor at Barça and this is an added honour”, said the doctor. Ramon Canal, meanwhile, wanted to congratulate everyone who has made this possible, “everyone from the players, to Antoni Rossich, to FIFA, to the Generalitat and all the professionals that aren’t directly connected to the club but have provided an exceptionally high quality service”.

“Barça comply with every criteria”

Jiri Dvorak, the head of the FIFA medical services, commented that “it’s a huge honour for me to be here. It’s the warmest welcome I’ve had in twenty years”. One of the things he stressed the most is how FIFA “wants to do everything possible to avoid early deaths of footballers … Barça has complied with every evaluation criteria and that is why Barça deserves to be a ‘FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence’".
Boi Ruiz, Councillor for Health at the Generalitat de Catalunya, was also there to praise Barça. “The best team in the world has to have the best medical services in the world” he said.

Strength to improve

The last person to speak was president Sandro Rosell, who said that “it is a pride and honour because this gives us the strength to continue working and doing a good job … a large number of the titles we have won are all thanks to the Medical Services. The work they do deserves to be recognised this way”.

Three of the best boarders in the Nike SB team, Eric Koston, Paul Rodríguez and Sean Malto met on Thursday at the Camp Nou for a photo shoot. “It’s awesome to be at the Camp Nou. It’s enormous!”, said Sean Malto. His Eric Koston, celebrating 20years as a skater, also described how glad he feels to be back in Barcelona.

Paul Rodríguez spoke about Street League Skateboarding, saying that “I’m very pleased to be able to take part and I think it’s the best competition there is. Barcelona is like a giant skate park.” He colleague Malto added that “the Barcelona circuit is different to the one in Brazil and looks like it’ll be much harder”.

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Xia Miao, Shang Yan and Xie Bin were the first Chinese entrants to come. One year later, FC Barcelona is again welcoming a group of Chinese guests, who are here as winners of competition organised by the club in association with the Catalan Tourist Board and Chinese technology company Tencent. A dream is coming true for four Chinese fans who are flying from Beijing on Friday.

Chen Feng, Ma Tingxiao, Li Peihuan and Wang Jun are two boys and two girls who have won the competition while demonstrating their extraordinary affection for FC Barcelona. The youngest is 14-year-old Ma Tingxiao, who is being joined by his mother on this six-day visit to such emblematic places as Figueres, Girona, the Costa Brava, the Penedès and Barcelona.

As in the first edition, FC Barcelona is lending its support to a major attempt to promote Catalonia in China and open its doors to four very special guests. On Sunday, they’ll be attending the game with Valladolid, which will include the added bonus of the 2012/2013 Liga title celebrations after the final whistle.

It’s a unique opportunity for these fans from so far away to get a taste of the big-match atmosphere at the Camp Nou. On Wednesday, they will also be enjoying the Camp Nou Experience, which includes visits to such locations as the changing rooms, pressroom and, of course, the legendary pitch.

The four Chinese winners of the Catalunya Turisme contest attended this Sunday’s game between FC Barcelona and Valladolid and the 2012/13 La Liga title festivities that followed the match. Upon entering the stadium, Chen Feng, Ma Tingxiao, Li Peihuan and Wang Jun – winners of the contest organised by Tencent in collaboration with the Club – were unable to hide their emotions. “I never could have imagined that I would be here. Thanks to the contest, one of my big dreams has come true,” said Cheng Feng, who started following the Club when he was 10 years old.

14-year-old Ma Tingxiao said that being in the Camp Nou is “impressive. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to see my favourite players up close.” Wang Jun, a university student, highlighted the atmosphere of the stadium: “I’ve been a Barça fan for a long time. Being able to experience this in person is very different from watching it on TV 10,000 kilometers away. It’s moving to be able to experience this with so many people, I hope that one day we’ll have the same football culture in China.”

More than 2 millions followers on Tencent Weibo

The contest – the second of which Catalunya Turisme has conducted in China – has helped promote Catalonia in China, especially with the help of FC Barcelona. Every year sees more Chinese tourists land in the Catalan capital with the goal of getting a first-hand glimpse of Barça’s history, its players and its universal values. Antonio Li, director of Catalunya Turisme in China, talked about Barça’s role in the contest: “Barça have more than 2 million followers on Tencent Weibo, the Chinese microblogging site. Barça’s great influence helps promote Catalonia as a tourist destination in the Chinese market.”

In addition to the Camp Nou, the Chinese fans also visited the most emblematic sites of Catalonia like the Dalí Museum, the Freixenet Cava Celler in Penedès and the ‘Temps de Flors’ exposition in Girona. This Monday, they will continue their Catalan excursion as they visit the famous neighbourhoods of Barcelona. They will also get to know Catalonia’s food scene when they participate in a tapas workshop later this evening.