RIO DE JANEIRO, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona on Saturday confirmed that Santos striker Neymar remains a target for the Spanish club and they want to have Neymar and Lionel Messi playing side-by-side.

Barcelona promised to return to its endeavors in attracting the star striker, offering a new proposal to Santos by the middle of the year.

Neymar's contract with Santos was recently extended, terminating after the conclusion of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Related to Messi, Neymar said that he hopes Messi continues to score goals at his rapid pace so that he can analyze his movements and replicate them.

Barcelona optimistically declared that they hope to united Messi and Neymar in 2013. The team will once again enter the dispute for the young star against archrival Real Madrid who has plans of its own to acquire the striker.

Neymar is currently Brazil's highest paid athlete, receiving an estimated 1.5 million US dollars per month. He returned to state his happiness with Santos, detailing that he has no intentions of leaving the team before the end of his contract.

Chelsea team is trying to get some talent from Barcelona. The next on the radar of the English team is Barcelona's talented midfielder, Sergio Roberto. According to British media and Spanish 21-year-old Roberto is the desire of Chelsea next. Roberto is the target of Chelsea since Villas Boas was the coach. Not only that, Chelsea are considering bringing in the talent squad next to Barcelona Gerard Deulofeu. But Barcelona responded immediately, denying the sale of this talent, which is among the most distinguished of this team. Last year Chelsea from Barcelona's got talent Oriol Romeu.!

Valencia left-back Jordi Alba is expected to complete a move to Barcelona in the coming days.


• Arbeloa plays down tension talk


Alba, who is currently away with the Spanish national side ahead of Euro 2012, is reportedly on the verge of joining Barca for a fee in the region of €12 million.


Barcelona striker David Villa is hopeful the deal will be completed for the 23-year-old, who can also play on the left wing.


"I hope Jordi Alba joins us," Villa said. "Not only because he's my friend, but also because he's a spectacular player. Every club would want him."


Alba, asked about his future on Wednesday, suggested he would relish a switch to the Camp Nou.


"I've always said that Barca play the best football and they have very good players," he told RAC 1. "I get along very well with the Barcelona players, but I get on well with my other colleagues too."

AC Milan revealed their interest in Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, sparking rumors of a swap with namesake Thiago Silva.

Barcelona coach Tito Villanova has made Silva his number one priority this summer, but several approaches have been rejected by Milan so far. However, with the Italian club announcing their interest in Alcantara, Barca might have another chance of persuading Milan to let Silva leave for Spain.

"We like Thiago Alcantara, that is for sure," Ariedo Braid, Milan's director general, told COPE Radio.
"He is a great player."

If Barca fail to bring in Silva to Catalunya, the former European champions might go in for Chelsea defender David Luiz, according to the Daily Mail.

Luiz, after a tentative start, grew in confidence last year, seeing his stock rise considerably.

It is highly unlikely, however, Chelsea will let their Brazilian defender leave unless Barcelona make a ridiculously high offer. The Catalans are also keeping an eye on Lyon defender Dejan Lovran.

Meanwhile, reported Barca and Manchester United target Jordi Alba said he is not concerned about rumors linking him with Barcelona and his focus is only on Spain's Euro 2012 campaign. "The rumors are neither pleasant nor uncomfortable," the 23-year-old Valencia player told RAC 1.

"I always said that Barca is the team that plays the best football and they have very good players, who are also here with the national team. I get along very well with the Barcelona players, but also with other (Spain) team-mates.

"I want to focus on the national team and see what happens. A lot of things are being said but, personally, I'm concentrating on what's happening here."

Alba left Barcelona as a youngster after failing to make the first-team grade. Current Barcelona player David Villa, who will miss Euro 2012 due to injury, said Alba would be a great addition. "He's one of the people I get along best with and he has had a spectacular career and it is not only Barcelona that would want him, but every team," the striker said.

"You always want to have players like this with you. He has incredible versatility and is in great physical condition."

Villa also gave the thumbs-up to new coach Villanova, saying the Spaniard was ready to coach Barca.

Brazilian rightback Dani Alves re-affirmed his commitment to Barcelona, amid rumors of a move to Manchester City. "I want to continue to make history with Barcelona," he told Sport.

"I have no plans to leave the club because I am very comfortable here and I have a contract that is still going. We have a great group of players here and I love going into training with them every day."

Italian side Bologna confirmed the capture of Barcelona youngster Marti Riverola on a free transfer. The 21-year-old Barca youth product made only one appearance for the Catalans and went out on loan to Dutch side Vitesse last year.

Selector Brazil, Mano Menezes, admitted that Saturday's match versus Argentina his boys will face the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. Brazilian coach says that they will have even more difficult because Argentina has played a valuable competitive match for World Cup 2014 qualifier in front of Ecuador's victory, as they develop only friendly matches. "We will play against the best in the world. He has great individual skills and the ball just can not reach it with the same freedom that he had in the match against Ecuador. " "Another problem we have is that Argentina has already been involved in competitive pace [while Brazil has played only friendly]. We must be prepared for a tough match, "said Menezes for ESPN Brasil. Friendly match between the two best teams in Latin America held in New Jersey USA starting from 21:00 European CW. / Telegraph /

Lionel Messi plans to return to Kataloni, during his vacation to attend the wedding of Andres Iniesta on Sunday, July 8.

The news that Barcelona is looking for a striker, has not gone unnoticed by Samuel Eto'o, who seem to be interested to turn in club Kaatalunas believed that Cameroon has had contact with his former teammates, Xavi and Iniesta Valdes has discussed the situation where the newly created club, after leaving Pep Guardiola. According MundoDeportivo Eto'o with a half joke said that probably go back to the club that won many trophies. 31 year old striker Anzhit team has a salary of 20 million euros in the season, but the salary reduction may not be a major problem.!

Alexis Sanchez: I will not go to MAN.CITY. Catalan striker said it did not intend to leave FCBARCELONA because it is the best in football history. He also said he would join the Catalans in this month and will continue Tito Vilanovan path from Pep Guardiola.

Excellent news as Barça today secured the services of our rising star Sergio Roberto until June 2015. His previous contract would have come to an end next summer and he had plenty of clubs such as Chelsea keen to sign him on the cheap. The buy-out clause on his contract increases from €3 million to €20 million which should discourage poachers for a while. Sergio will continue playing in Barça B this season but it will be no surprise to see him build on his three official first team appearances this season despite the competition for places.

One of the big advantages of having the B team playing in the Segunda Division is that it is not so necessary to loan out players like Sergio. This way he is always playing the Barça style and he also gets to train sometime with masters like Xavi and Iniesta. Surely this is the best way for him to continue his development right now. Replacing Xavi and Iniesta when they retire is no longer looking a problem  with Cesc, Thiago, Sergio Roberto and perhaps Javi Espinosa to continue the line of Barça midfield excellence.

Although he is currently injured and has undergone surgery, Ibrahim Afellay is still being closely monitored by Holland manager Bert van Marwijk, who has said he still hopes to be able to take him to the finals. If his recovery goes to plan, then he should be fit in time to play for the ‘oranje’. Ibi didn’t start any of the games at the last World Cup, at which Holland were finalists, but did come on as sub in three matches and was a regular starter in the European qualifiers.

Abidal a regular choice for Blanc 
Éric Abidal will almost surely be selected by France manager Laurent Blanc. As long as he isn’t injured, he should be one of the first choice full backs, with France eager to erase the bad memories of what happened at the World Cup last year.

Manchester City has offered 30 million pounds for the Blaugrana striker. They also have offered him a contract about 5 million pounds per year and this can cause the attacker to leave Barcelona.

FC Barcelona lead in many of the individual and collective statistical categories of the Liga, including the Pichichi Award and the Zamora Trophy
Barça will remember the 2011/12 season as the year Leo Messi’s 50-goal haul won him the Pichichi Award and as the year that Víctor Valdés won his fifth Zamora Trophy. However, FC Barcelona also led in many other statistical La Liga categories, both on the individual and collective levels. 

Team stats:

• The team that conceded the least amount of goals: 29 goals conceded (0.76 per match). Madrid came in second, with 32.

• The team that conceded the least amount of shots: 258 (6.79 per match). Madrid came in second with 370.

• The team with the second-most goals: 114 goals scored (3 per match). Madrid scored 121. 

• The team with the most goals scored from free kicks: 5 goals. Málaga and Betis both had 4 apiece.

• Second team with the most shots on goal: 614 (16.16 per match). Madrid shot on goal 713.

• Second team with the most corners won: 260 (6.84 per match). Athletic Club finished first with 263.

• The team that conceded the least amount of corners: 119 (3.13 per match). Málaga finished second with 138.

• The team that received the second most fouls: 612 (16.11 per match). Málaga received 642.

• The team that committed the least amount of fouls: 382 (10.13 per match). Málaga finished second with 411.

• Second team with the least amount of yellow cards: 82 (2.16 per match). Málaga finished first with 78.

Individual stats:

• Xavi finished the season as the player with the most completed passes: 3,024.

• In the passing department: Dani Alves finished third with 2,672 passes, behind Xabi Alonso (2,880).

• Messi, the Pichichi, was the player with the second most shots on goal: 198. Ronaldo finished first with 252.

• Messi finished the season as the player with the most assists along with Ozil (16)

• The Argentine finished the season as the player that received the second-most fouls penalized by a yellow card (22), Navas finished first with 25.

• Messi is also that player that attempted the most dribbles (394), far ahead of the second-place finisher Jefferson Montero (312).

                                    HAPPY BIRTHDAY

This article is about the song. For the Dr. Seuss book, see Happy Birthday to You!.

"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth. According to the 1998Guinness Book of World Records, "Happy Birthday to You" is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". The song's base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages.^{[1], p. 17}

The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" comes from the song "Good Morning to All", which was written and composed by American siblings Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893.^[2][3] Patty was a kindergarten principal in Louisville, Kentucky, developing various teaching methods at what is now the Little Loomhouse;^[4] Mildred was a pianist and composer.^{[1], p. 7} The sisters created "Good Morning to All" as a song that would be easy to be sung by young children.^{[1], p. 14}

The combination of melody and lyrics in "Happy Birthday to You" first appeared in print in 1912, and probably existed even earlier.^{[1], pp. 31–32} None of these early appearances included credits or copyright notices. The Summy Company registered for copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman.^{[citation needed]} In 1990,Warner Chappell purchased the company owning the copyright for $15 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at $5 million.^[5] Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that the United States copyright will not expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to it. In one specific instance on February 2010, these royalties were said to amount to $700.^[6] In the European Union, the copyright of the song will expire on December 31, 2016.^[7] The actual American copyright status of "Happy Birthday to You" began to draw more attention with the passage of the Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Act in Eldred v. Ashcroft in 2003, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer specifically mentioned "Happy Birthday to You" in his dissenting opinion.^[8]American law professor Robert Brauneis, who heavily researched the song, has expressed strong doubts that it is still under copyright.^[1]

                                   HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASCHERANO

Javier Alejandro Mascherano (Spanish pronunciation: [ma(s)tʃeˈɾano], Italian: [maskeˈraːno]; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentinefootballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona. He can also play as a central defender. Mascherano began his career at River Plate. He earned his first senior honours in 2003–04, winning the Primera División Argentina. He also won anOlympic gold medal with Argentina in the Athens Games and finished runner up in the Copa América 2004. He moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005, winning the Brazilian Série A in his first season. Mascherano moved to Europe, signing for Premier League side West Ham United. However, unusual contract terms with Media Sports Investments blighted his brief time at the club and at the beginning of 2007 he joined Liverpool on loan.

He was runner up in the UEFA Champions League in his first season on Merseyside and again finished runner up in the Copa América with Argentina. He officially signed for Liverpool in February 2008 for £18.6 million, parting ways with Media Sports Investments. He won a second Olympic gold medal with Argentina in the Beijing 2008 Games, the first male footballer to achieve this since 1928. He was considered a key part of the national side by past coach Diego Maradona who appointed him captain and stated that his team was just Jonás, Mascherano, Messi and eight more.^[2][3]

Mascherano's two most used nicknames (in Argentina) are Masche and El Jefecito (The little chief).^[4][5] Former Argentine footballers Jorge Valdano and Jorge Solari regard him as possibly the best central midfielder in the world.^[6][7]

Mascherano also holds an Italian passport, which makes him eligible as an EU player.^[8]

Lionel Messi of Barcelona shoes are seen during the Barcelona training session prior to UEFA Champions League Final versus Manchester United at the Stadio Olimpico on May 26, 2009 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) * Local Caption * Lionel Messi

Evolution and major events

When it was inaugurated, the Camp Nou had the capacity for 93,053 spectators and the pitch measured 107x72 metres
It is now slightly smaller, 105x68 to be precise, in accordance with UEFA stipulations. The main materials used in constructing the stands were concrete and iron.

The stadium has undergone several renovations and improvements since 1957. The most important include the unveiling of the floodlighting system in 1959, as well as the addition of the grandstand electronic scoreboard and the press room. But other than these specific changes, the biggest upheaval was the extension work of 1982, when the stadium was enlarged for the staging of the World Cup opening ceremony. The addition of a third tier raised the capacity by 22,150.

The most spectacular Pichichi

Lionel Messi scores 50 goals in a season and dwarfs the record of 

41 set by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2010/11 season

Since his first league brace against Villarreal last August right through a magnificent four goals in the derby against Espanyol, Lionel Messi has scored 50 goals in the domestic championship to break the record set a year earlier by Cristiano Ronaldo. The 41 scored by the Portuguese international in the 2010/11 season were smashed by almost ten goals.

The Argentina international beat Mario Gomez and Cristiano Ronaldo to the individual trophy this term following his 14 strikes throughout the season

Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi has finished the 2011-12 Champions League campaign as top scorer with 14 goals in 11 appearances, thus equaling Jose Altafini's European Cup record from 1962-63 for AC Milan.

The Argentina international netted twice against BATE, three times against Plzen and once versus Milan to make it six from five games in the group stages.

The 24-year-old then found the net on six more occasions in the two round-of-16 games against Bayer Leverkusen, before adding two more to his tally in the quarterfinal tie against Milan. 

Messi was unable to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech in the semifinals, though, as Barca fell to a shock 3-2 defeat on aggregate.



                                 THE TOP FIVE SCORERS FROM THE 2011-12 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

PLAYER	CLUB	GOALS	MINUTES
Lionel Messi (Argentina)	Barcelona	14	990
Mario Gomez (Germany)	Bayern Munich	12	1003
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)	Real Madrid	10	930
Karim Benzema (France)	Real Madrid	7	761
Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire)	Chelsea	6	670

13 titles won and a 70% win rate are just a few of Pep Guardiola’s stats since his took charge of FC Barcelona’s first team

Pep Guardiola started his career on the bench in 2007 when he took charge of Barça B when the team was in the Spanish Third Division. A year later, after having led the reserve side to Second Division B, the Catalan took the reins from Frank Rijkaard as the first-team manager. In his over 200 matches at the FC Barcelona helm he won 13 titles.

Euro 2012: 8 Barça players could be in action this weekend

Ibrahim Afellay should be the first of the Barça squad to feature in the competition on Saturday, whilst the Spanish contingent start their bid to retain the title on Sunday 

Ibrahim Afellay’s Holland, in the group of death, kick off this Saturday against Denmark 

Valdés, Piqué, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc and Pedro in Spanish squad for Sunday’s game against Italy 

Only four other teams are providing more players at the tournament.

The Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine kicks off this Friday, with a total of eight Barça players involved. Ibrahim Afellay will be the first of the Club players to get involved, when Holland face Denmark this Saturday at 18.00, whilst Víctor Vadés, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Cesc Fàbregas and Pedro Rodríguez, are in the Spanish squad to face Italy the next day at 18.00.

Afellay back on form

The Barça players are representing the two finalists of the last World Cup. Holland are in the group of death alongside Germany, Portugal and Denmark, but are still many people’s favourites to take the title. Afellay made a great impression in the Dutch team’s last warm up game, getting two goals in the 6-0 win over Northern Ireland and after a season ruined by injury, he really looks to be back to his best and could well be one of the stars of the tournament after his disappointing time four years ago, when he hardly figured at all.
Valdés, Piqué and Pedro making debuts

Barça provide more members of the current champions’ squad than any other and three of the players - Valdés, Piqué and Pedro – will be making their debuts in the competition.

Only four teams provide more players for the competition than Barça - Bayern Munich (12), Real Madrid (11), Shaktar Donetsk (9) and Dynamo Kíev (9).

If he turns out for Argentina in New York on Saturday, the Barça number ‘10’ will have played sixty-nine matches for Barça and Argentina this season 

The Barça forward will bring the curtain down on the current season with a friendly against Brazil on Saturday 9th June in New York

Leo Messi has made sixty-eight appearances and scored a record-breakingseventy-three goals.  This Saturday he is set to establish a new personal record of sixty-nine matches played if he takes part in the friendly between Argentina and Brazil in New York.

An early starter

Leo Messi made his competitive first team debut under Frank Rijkaard on 16^th October 2004 against local rivals Espanyol.  Since then, the Argentine international has made three hundred and ninety-eight appearances for Argentina and FC Barcelona.  In his first season, 2004/05, he made nine appearances at the age of just 17.

Rapid progression

In the 2005/06 season, the Barça number '10’ played in thirty-five matches.  In the following season, his total increased to forty-six before reaching an impressive fifty appearances in the 2007/08 season.  In the 2008/09 season, with Pep Guardiola at the helm, Leo Messi became the lynchpin of the team and played in sixty competitive matches.

Over the last three seasons, Messi has passed the 60-match barrier, counting his appearances for Barça and for Argentina: sixty-four in 2009/10, sixty-six in 2010/11and, if he plays on Saturday, reaching an all-time high of sixty-nine this season.

          

Josep Guardiola's FC Barcelona have played a total of 247 of the 254 possible matches in four years (97.24%) 

Next season the team could play a total of 62 official matches, just like in the 2008/09 and 2010/11 seasons 

• 
  Messi celebrates his goal in the Cup Final / PHOTO: ARXIU FCB

FC Barcelona have played in nearly every possible match over the past four years. With Josep Guardiola on the bench, the team have played 247 of the 254 possible matches (97.24%). The Azulgranas have only missed out on seven fixtures: the quarterfinals, semifinals and final of the Cup in 2009/10 (five games) and the finals of the Champions Leauge in 2009/10 and 2011/12.

A total of 62 possible games 

The 2012/13 season, just like in Guardiola’s first and third seasons on the Barça bench, FC Barcelona could play a total of 62 official matches. 30 in the Liga, 13 in the Champions League, 9 in the Cup and 2 in the Spanish Super Cup. The Azulgranas will not feature in the Club World Cup or the European Super Cup (three matches). 

Here’s an interesting tidbit: the last two seasons Barça had to a total of 62 possible matches, the team went on to play in all of them.