ramaboy10
12 years ago
Barca,
who play at third-placed Atletico Madrid later on Sunday, have an
unassailable lead in the table as Jose Mourinho's team trail them by
seven points with only two games left to play.
"There'll only be a few changes," Barcelona vice-president Josep
Bartomeu told Barca TV. "It's a very competitive team and it's very
difficult to substitute the pieces."
"(Spain goalkeeper) Victor Valdes has told us he doesn't want to
continue, so we will try to find a replacement this summer. Also a
central defender and a forward."
Coach Tito Vilanova's team made a record-breaking start notching 55
of a possible 57 points in the first half of the season, but have
faltered in the knockout competitions over the last couple of months as
injuries and fatigue took their toll.
Defeats to Real in the King's Cup semi-finals and a thrashing at the
hands of Bayern Munich in the last four of the Champions League had many
predicting the end of Barcelona's recent glittering run of successes.
A string of injury problems for 35-year-old captain Carles Puyol, and
Eric Abidal's long recovery from a liver transplant left Barca short of
options in defence, which were compounded when Javier Mascherano and
Adriano Correia also picked up injuries.
The inconsistency of forwards David Villa and Alexis Sanchez have
meant Barca have been more reliant than usual on World Player of the
Year Lionel Messi to score goals, especially in the big games.
"People talk of a cyclical change but we have returned to win the
main title, the one that rewards consistency," Barca sports director
Andoni Zubizarreta said.
"If we look at our squad, 80 per cent of the players that would
interest us are already part of our team. As always, we'll analyse what
needs to be improved but the base is solid and we've already got it."
The champions will have a victory parade through the streets of Barcelona on Monday.
YYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!