Barcelona Beats Athletic Bilbao for Record 25th Copa del Rey Title!!!

The first of the three titles for 2009!!!

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Barcelona beats Athletic for 25th domestic cup

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) - Barcelona rallied for a 4-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao for its record 25th Copa del Rey title on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi's 57th-minute winner was followed by Bojan Krkic and Xavi Hernandez sealing a deserved win that put the Catalans on course to become the first Spanish club to win three trophies in a season.

Barcelona players lift their coach Pep Guardiola after winning the Spanish Copa del Rey for the 25th time.

Barcelona's first domestic cup triumph since 1998 also snapped a trophy drought since a league-Champions League double in 2006.

Captain Carles Puyol received the trophy from King Juan Carlos before leading his teammates to a handful of laps around Mestalla Stadium, to the applause of both sets of fans.

"It's not a question of having liberated ourselves," coach Pep Guardiola said of the pressure on Barcelona to match its spectacular play with titles.

"We played a good game. It's a great day."

Guardiola also refused to take praise for guiding the club to a trophy in his rookie season.
"The team is on course, on course for something important. It's their football."

Gaizka Toquero headed Athletic in front after nine minutes before Yaya Toure equalized in the 32nd following an individual run from inside the Athletic half.

Barcelona dominated after that with Messi and Krkic scoring within two minutes and Xavi curling a free kick home in the 65th.

Athletic, which reached the final for the first time in 24 years, couldn't keep up with its Catalan rival as Barcelona showed why it is on the verge of winning the league this weekend, and will play Manchester United in the Champions League final on May 27.

"We came here to win but we came up against the best team in the world," Athletic coach Joaquin Caparros said.

Barcelona's defense was without Eric Abidal to suspension and Rafael Marquez to injury so Toure filled in at center back. The Ivory Coast midfielder single-handedly started the rally with an impressive goal where he moved around three opponents before beating Gorka Iraizoz with a stinging low shot from the edge of the area.

"It wasn't my best goal of my career but in terms of significance it was one of the finest," Toure said. "I think we've sent out a message after two years without a trophy."

The momentum turned Barcelona's way from then.

Athletic had managed to suffocate Messi and the Catalans' midfield early, and open through Toquero, who headed Fran Yeste's corner past Jose Manuel Pinto at the far post.

"We knew that the Basques would be physical, that they were very strong," Guardiola said. "Above all we knew that we were going to be facing a very aggressive team so it was important to get the ball out quick, to avoid contact and not let them suffocate us."

Athletic couldn't contain Barcelona, which was without Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry to injury, with its physical play as Barcelona broke loose after Messi's sixth goal of the cup and 37th in all competitions.

The Argentina winger, playing in his first final for Barcelona, jumped on the rebound from Samuel Eto'o's shot inside the area and controlled to fire past the scrambling defense.

"The difference between Leo and others in these types of games is that these are the types of matches he loves to play," Guardiola said.

Messi then set up Krkic, who was making a rare start, two minutes later to slide a low shot past Iraizoz off the inside of the far post for his fifth cup goal.

Barcelona's Daniel Alves was hit by an object thrown from the Athletic side of the stands in the 60th, then Xavi again rewarded the delirious Barcelona fans who had made the trip down the coast by scoring from a free kick.

Since both clubs represent two of Spain's more autonomous provinces, all 45,000 spectators greeted King Juan Carlos' entrance to jeers, and whistled for the entirety of the Spanish national anthem.

The crowds didn't let up their support thereafter as Barcelona won it's first domestic cup for 11 years.

The match also marked the 25th anniversary of the two teams' last meeting in the competition, a 1-0 Athletic win marred by a mass brawl to close.

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/9571368/Barcelona-beats-Athletic-for-25th-domestic-cup

Party Time For Barcelona!!!

Barcelona vs Man U - A Dream Final

What a match! Finally, Barca breaks the duck! Unbelievable! Relieved! These are some of the reactions following the match between Barca and Chelsea. This is not the best game for Barca but overall they played well, never give up and in the end, its an exciting football game. You certainly have to give credit to the way Chelsea defended. Both goals in the game are just beautiful. Will Messi proves he's the best footballer in the world in Rome? Lets wait and see...

Barcelona is going to meet Man U in the final in Rome on 27 May 2009. Make sure you are there to witness probably one of the best games in Champions League history!!

My prediction stays the same - The winner between Barca vs Chelsea is going to lift the Champions League 2009 title!

Barcelona 3 - Man U 2

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Barcelona-Man United is dream final for strikers

LONDON (AP): Barcelona is out to do much more than just take the Champions League title away from Manchester United when they meet in the final in Rome.

Pep Guardiola's team wants to prove itself the best and most entertaining side in the world.

After United knocked out Arsenal on Tuesday and Barcelona eliminated Chelsea on Wednesday, the two European powerhouses will square off on May 27 in the matchup fans across the continent have looked forward to all season.

While United is trying to hold on to the title it won in Moscow last year, Barcelona is chasing its third title and hoping to end the English Premier League's recent dominance in European football's most prestigious competition.

Both teams also look set to win their domestic leagues, with United three points ahead in the Premier League with a game in hand, and Barcelona seven in front in La Liga.

But the statistics aren't the most important thing in this final.

It is a meeting of perhaps the two most entertaining sides in Europe, both of them with big-name forwards who enjoy taking opponents apart with their imaginative interpassing.

"It's great to be playing against such a top side as Manchester United," Guardiola said after a dramatic 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge put his team through on away goals.

Andres Iniesta equalized in the third minute of injury time after Michael Essien's ninth-minute strike threatened to put Chelsea through.

United manager Alex Ferguson has to decide which of his three main strikers - Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez - to leave on the bench, with Cristiano Ronaldo also attacking from the wings.

Guardiola usually sends his trio of strikers - Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o - out together, and they have rewarded him with a combined 69 league goals out of a total of 100.

That century was reached on Saturday with a spectacular 6-2 victory at Real Madrid, Barcelona's main rival.

The likelihood of all these attacking stars playing at Rome's Olympic Stadium suggests the game could be one of the best in the 53-year history of the competition.

Behind these forwards are some of the best midfielders, too.

United will be able to field veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, while Barca has Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, two of the stars of Spain's impressive triumph at last year's European Championship.

Barcelona reached its sixth final despite the absence of three defenders on Wednesday through injury or suspension. Defender Eric Abidal was sent off against Chelsea on Wednesday and will be suspended for the final as will Daniel Alves, who picked up a second yellow card in the competition. But Guardiola will have Carles Puyol back after serving a ban.

United meanwhile, has set some impressive defensive records this season. United's center back pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic made huge contributions to goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar going a British record 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in the league.

Giggs gets the chance to be on the winning side for the third time, having also played in the 1999 and 2008 finals. Scholes was suspended for the '99 victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona but played in last year's win over Chelsea.

"It's not a nice feeling when you have to sit there and watch the final. Obviously if you're team is in the final, you want to be involved," said Scholes, who has just gone past 600 appearances for the Reds. "It's the biggest game of your life, the European Cup final, everyone wants to be playing and it's desperately disappointing if you can't be."

United midfielder Darren Fletcher will get that experience this time, after being harshly sent off for bringing down Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas in the quarterfinal second leg with his team already coasting at 3-0 up.

http://www.thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/5/7/sports/20090507091420&sec=sports

Barcelona Whips Real Madrid at Bernabeu, Chelsea Next at Bridge

Barcelona cruises to 6-2 win over Real Madrid

MADRID (AP) - Barcelona couldn't have asked for a bigger confidence booster ahead of its Champions League semifinal at Chelsea than Saturday's 6-2 rout of classic rival Real Madrid.

Barcelona's biggest ever scoring output at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium came a year after the Catalans had to salute Madrid on the very same ground as newly crowned Spanish league champion.

Now, Barcelona holds a seven-point lead on its rival with four games to play after the "clasico" win and is on the verge of snapping a three-year trophyless drought.

"Last season when we played here it was one of the worst days of my life - this has been one of the best," captain Carles Puyol said. "It's historic, a very important game. We're euphoric."
Barcelona was relishing Wednesday's Champions League match at Chelsea, where the teams play after a 0-0 first leg.

It produced total football, as preached and practiced by rookie coach Pep Guardiola.

"It's a glorious night because winning at such an important stadium against a marvelous club like this is very, very big," said Guardiola, a former Barcelona player who played under Johann Cruyff. "We're going (to Chelsea) feeling very good."

Barcelona is rewriting the league record books after reaching 100 goals to sit only seven shy of matching the best mark for a season.

Samuel Eto'o (27 goals), Lionel Messi (23) and Thierry Henry (19) have combined for 69 league goals to become the league's highest scoring trio, surpassing the 66 by Madrid greats Ferenc Puskas (28), Alfredo di Stefano (21) and Luis del Sol (17) during the 1960-61 season.

Barcelona's players certainly celebrated the victory, staying on the field long after the final whistle to enjoy the moment while fans gathered along Barcelona's Las Rambla street to celebrate a big step toward adding silverware for the first time since a Champions League-league double in 2006.

"We dominated most of the match and we leave with a great feeling that we've taken a step that is nearly definite in the league," said Andres Iniesta, who was even applauded by 80,000 fans as he came off in the 86th minute. "Not quite, but almost."

Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez played perfect providers to Messi and Henry up front, with Messi playing in a center forward position to take advantage of Madrid's slower center backs.
Eto'o just stopped short of calling Guardiola's tactical move genius.

"We knew we had to play our game and that's what we did," Messi said. "We were superior."

Madrid coach Juande Ramos said Madrid would have to make major changes if it hoped to compete with Europe's best.

"That's an element that is very clear at this moment. In comparison to the major clubs of Europe, we can't compete on a sporting scale," Ramos said.

Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez said the Spanish champions will try to keep their slight hopes alive.

"Clearly it depends on them. We'll try to finish the best that we can," Raul said. "That's football, they were better.

(But) it's the kind of defeat that hurts."-AP

Nadal Is In Top Form In Rome

"I think it was one of my best matches on clay this year," Nadal said.
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Nadal, Federer, Djokovic advance in Rome
ROME (AP) - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic advanced to the Rome Masters quarterfinals with routine straight-sets wins on Thursday.

Nadal extended his clay-court winning streak to 27 matches _ stretching back to an opening-round loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero here last year - with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Robin Soderling of Sweden.

Federer avenged last year's quarterfinal loss to Radek Stepanek by beating the 16th-seeded Czech 6-4, 6-1. Djokovic had a surprisingly easy time with 13th-seeded Tommy Robredo, winning 6-1, 6-1.

Also advancing were No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 8 Fernando Verdasco, No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez, and two qualifiers - Juan Monaco of Argentina and Mischa Zverev of Germany.

Nadal was so dominant against Soderling that the 27th-ranked Swede became frustrated enough to call the ATP supervisor, Mark Darby, onto the court early in the second set over a disputed call. Computer replays showed Soderling's shot was clearly out.

"I think it was one of my best matches on clay this year," Nadal said.

Nadal has won clay-court titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in the past two weeks and is attempting to become the first player in the Open era to win this tournament four times.

Before his perfect Rome record was ruined by Ferrero last year, Nadal won three consecutive titles at Foro Italico from 2005-07.

Thomas Muster also won three Rome titles in 1990, '95 and '96.

Nadal will next face Verdasco, who eliminated Richard Gasquet of France 7-5, 6-4.

Gasquet was forced to play two matches on Wednesday due to rain earlier in the week. Federer said conditions were a touch slower than when he played Stepanek last year, and he could read his opponent's serve better.

"I told myself I have to be very disciplined in my playing today, the way I play my tactical game against him and just the way I have to focus," Federer said. "Last year I got a little bit unsure about my own game and he played well, and then I was not 100 percent sure of what I wanted to do."

Federer jumped out to a 3-0 lead before being broken when he served for the first set at 5-3. But the newlywed Swiss broke right back when he forced Stepanek to hit a low volley that landed in the net.

Federer cruised in the second set, serving his fifth ace on his first match point. But Federer managed to get only 43 percent of his first serves in, and he will likely have to improve to avoid extending his title drought to eight tournaments.

"I didn't care how high my first serve percentage was, as long as I was winning," Federer said. "But it's definitely something I have to do better in the next match."
Federer will next face the 76th-ranked Zverev, who upset eighth-seeded Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-1.
Djokovic needs to defend his title at this French Open warmup to prevent Andy Murray from taking the No. 3 ranking from him, even though Murray was eliminated by Monaco on Wednesday.

Djokovic began working with Muster's old trainer, Gebhard Phil-Gritsch, last week, and kept his level high from start to finish against Robredo, who has won two clay titles this year.

"I felt quite good," Djokovic said. "I had a day off yesterday, which helped me to recover from the late night second round and just get some more practice."
Djokovic has won his last five matches against Robredo, who leads the ATP Tour with 19 wins on
clay this year.

"It was quite strange because Tommy was making a lot of unforced errors, so he didn't put a lot of pressure on me," Djokovic said.

Del Potro defeated last year's runner-up, No. 10 Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Monaco produced another upset by beating 15th-seeded Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, improving to 14-6 on clay this year, including a runner-up result in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February. He will next face Gonzalez, who rallied to beat net-charging Jurgen Melzer of Austria 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Gonzalez was the runner-up in Rome two years ago and is 10-1 on clay this season.

Melzer won 40 of 65 points at the net but dropped his serve late in the third set when Gonzalez hit a backhand return winner up the line.

Gonzalez snapped his racket in half early in the match when he was struggling to counter Melzer's attacking game.-AP

http://www.thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2009/5/1/sports/20090501070753&sec=sports