La Liga - Fatigue threatening Barca treble

Eurosport - Mon, 11 May 12:53:00 2009

Mental and physical fatigue are threatening to derail Barcelona's push for a treble of trophies when they take on traditional Copa del Rey specialists Athletic Bilbao in Wednesday's final.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Champions League Thierry Henry - 0

The Catalans survived a draining Champions League semi-final second leg away to Chelsea last Wednesday, scoring a late equaliser to book a place in the May 27 final against Manchester United.

But on Sunday, they were on the receiving end of a stoppage-time goal that denied them the Liga title at home to Villarreal. Barca let slip a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 following the red card for defender Eric Abidal, 12 minutes from time.

Joseba Llorente's strike silenced a packed Nou Camp who had already started their celebrations. Barca only need one point from their remaining three matches, but the look of disbelief on his players' faces will have worried coach Pep Guardiola.

"A few days ago we did the same to Chelsea, now it is us who have suffered. But we are closer still to the title," Guardiola said. "We have to pick ourselves up, recover our smiles, and prepare the best we can for the cup final."

Guardiola said his players were feeling the accumulated strain of so many important matches in such a short space of time, and was particularly concerned by the injury to midfielder Andres Iniesta who damaged a thigh muscle in Sunday's game.

Iniesta joins Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez on a growing injury list, and he will also be deprived of the suspended Abidal.

The Frenchman's second red card in as many games ruled him out of his second final but Barca said on Monday they would appeal to free him for the Copa del Rey final. Barca have already said they will appeal the red card Abidal picked up in the

Champions League semi-final which has ruled him out of the May 27 final.

Barca won a record 24th King's Cup on their last final appearance against Real Mallorca in 1998, which was also held in Valencia's Mestalla, the venue for Wednesday's encounter.

Up against them are a side who are being swept to the east coast on a wave of emotion by their fans - 20,000 of whom packed San Mames on Sunday just to watch their last training session before they travelled.

Athletic rested most of their first-team regulars for the 1-0 victory over Real Betis on Saturday, that left them safe in mid-table.

Athletic won the last of their 23 cups in 1984, beating Barcelona 1-0 in a final best remembered for a brutal exchange of kicks and punches between the players, including Diego Maradona, at the end.

Bilbao only field players from the Basque region, and coach Joaquin Caparros hoped a victory over Barca would help prove that their model can still cut it at the highest level. It has been under scrutiny after recent battles to avoid relegation.

"If we could win a final against Barcelona, who are the best team in the world at present, it would make Bilbao's unique model the centre of world attention. The chance to do this gives the footballers an extra motivation," he told sports daily Marca.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 15 of 15

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  1. WELL, FOR A SO-CALLED FATIGUED TEAM, I DON'T THINK­ BARCA THIS EVENING WAS ONE. YOU CAN TALK WHAT YOU WANT­ BUT IT IS JUST ANOTHER FOR YOU ENGLISH BLOGGERS TO­ TREMBLE AT WHAT THEY WILL DO TO MAN-CHIT-STER. KEEP ON­ DREAMING MANURE PLAYERS AND FANS, YOU WILL BE­ DISILLUSIONED SOON.

    From Pooks, on Thu 14 May 12:43AM

  2. post 1, you are right..they are haing nightmares cos­ they know MAN UNITED will
    win the CL back to back

    BEL­ pa zed

    From Brian, on Wed 13 May 10:30AM

  3. post 1, you are right..they are haing nightmares cos­ they know MAN UNITED will
    win the CL back to back

    BEL­ pa zed

    From Brian, on Wed 13 May 10:29AM

  4. post 1, you are right..they are haing nightmares cos­ they know MAN UNITED will
    win the CL back to back

    BEL­ pa zed

    From Brian, on Wed 13 May 10:29AM

  5. why i sense a madrid cabron here when there is only­ Barca-Man U finale? last time i recall they were­ thrashed by Liverpool in UCL last 16, then by Barca at­ their OWN TURF n Valencia without reply..! comment on­ that..!

    From carlamms, on Tue 12 May 1:39AM

  6. Tom b ? i think you asked who is Mssi?!! sounds you­ dont watch football at all , where is Messi in chelsea­ game? he gave the assist of goal. beside chelsea played­ like cowards just because of King Messi and you asking­ who is Messi . in such games you only look for WIN and­ thats what happened . Ronaldo? oh my God ,he might be­ an athlete but not a phoenomena like the King Messi .

    From hasan a, on Mon 11 May 8:57PM

  7. there is no quetion that spanish league is better than­ EPL
    but barca will not win except League
    y?
    they will­ be without 5 main players & the sub r nt the­ same
    can u compaire
    alves with caseres, marquiz with­ sanchez, abidal with silvinho, iniesta with busqes­ & henry with bojan
    barca will be hammered on their­ weak point in 2 finals
    the weak point is their­ bench
    all r rubish
    even their captain puyol is weak­
    twice he make silly mistake with aguero against­ athletico & yesterday with lorenti against­ villareal
    who is ready to change eto'o henry messi­ iniesta & xavi
    in man u the sub r tevez berbatov­ nani giggs & schols
    even athletic have better sub

    From getachew44, on Mon 11 May 6:02PM

  8. Barcelona apesta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Shaun S, on Mon 11 May 5:44PM

  9. b.west_14

    and how is manchester united threatening­ their liga title and copa del rey? you know, folly is­ one thing that plagues some idiots like you and when­ they talk, they think they are making fun, whereas they­ are just spreading their talent: folly! sorry mate but­ you seems to be one of them.

    From Pooks, on Mon 11 May 5:02PM

  10. btw, happy bday Iniesta.. get well soon..!

    From carlamms, on Mon 11 May 5:01PM

  11. tom b No. 3:

    First of all, all the @#$% you say here­ against Messi and barca's players won't matter!­ You are just a pathetic loser like you EPL teams.­ Questioning Messi's game against chelsea is just a­ sign you are not yet over your defeat (or elimination)!­ Please get a life, stupid moron!
    Secondly, who cares­ what english fans and footballers are? You call name of­ man u players who tomorrow will play in the spanish­ league and we will here you smelling guted rotten mouth­ yelling against them. Give us a break and the so-called­ victory of Man U over Barca is just on paper.
    If­ chelsea was that strong, why couldn't they score?­ The rely on fake penalty appeals? Those appeals were­ just an excuse to avoid been crucified by your own­ english papers. If chelsea has qualified, who would­ have had time to talk about that chapter?

    From Pooks, on Mon 11 May 4:58PM

  12. ronaldo who? he cant even convert a penalty against­ sorry Barca last season.. ya Barca got some defensive­ issue here, but so did when they played csea at falling­ London bridge.. n here we are in Rome.. giggs?­ he'll make some appearance somewhere in last 15­ minutes, after all that what he does best now..­ increasing the numbers of appearance.. tevez, i'll­ give him some credit with his work rate, still he's­ cleaning his locker after the finale, n lastly rooney,­ such a forward but without good scoring record in his­ CV, well he did all the dirty jobs n guess what its­ that #7 who stole all the glory from him..

    n yet­ tomboy, you're still playing with big IF.. Barca­ does strike fear in your eyes huh..?!

    From carlamms, on Mon 11 May 4:53PM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Remember, no Eric Abidal, if they win their appeal, so­ should Man Utd. No Marquez, no Dani "sky it­ high" Alves, 3 out of the 4 defenders for barca­ are out. Yes, they have replacements, but up against­ ronaldo, giggs, tevez, rooney. They need to score more­ goals than Man Utd (to be obvious).
    Messi, world's­ greatest player? Yeah, when playing rubbish spanish­ teams, but against chelsea who was Messi? Was he even­ playing? They were rubbish, and if man utd, with their­ defence, can prevent Barca scoring, then they have it­ in the bag! Though the 0-0 of last year might happen­ again.

    From tom b, on Mon 11 May 4:22PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    yeah boy man utd rule

    From mpierce82, on Mon 11 May 3:00PM
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    barcas biggest treble threat isnt fatigue..its­ manchester united!

    From b.west_14, on Mon 11 May 1:05PM
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