Thierry Henry and Andrés Iniesta face a fitness race ahead of FC Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United in Rome on 27 May. The French striker struggling with a knee ligament injury and the Spanish midfielder suffering a torn thigh muscle.
The Catalan club’s medical team diagnosed a stretching of Henry’s posterior ligament in his right knee, an injury sustained during the 6-2 Liga win at Real Madrid on 2 May. The 31-year-old was ruled out of the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as a result, a match from which Barça advanced with a 1-1 draw thanks to Iniesta’s goal three minutes into added time, and the 3-3 Liga draw with Villarreal.
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Henry and Iniesta doubtful for Champions League Final
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FC Barcelona have finally announced their U.S. summer tour plans. The potential Champions League Winners will play three games, two of which will be against MLS opposition.
On August 1st, Barcelona will face the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. Then four days later, they will travel up the coast to play the Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field on Aug. 5th. There is a still to be announced third game on the schedule which I expect to be played in the Miami area.
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Barcelona stole a remarkable UEFA Champions League semi-final win through Andrés Iniesta’s goal three minutes into added time to earn a showdown with Manchester United in Rome on 27 May.
Chelsea thought they had done enough to earn a repeat of last season’s final as they defended Michael Essien’s breathtaking ninth-minute strike with great resilience only for Essien to then err in failing to clear his lines in the dying moments. Lionel Messi squared to Iniesta and he cut his shot skilfully away from Petr Čech to give the 2006 champions – playing with ten men after Eric Abidal’s second-half dismissal – victory on away goals and the chance to reclaim their crown, although they will have to do it without the suspended Abidal and Daniel Alves.
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Barcelona wailed about Chelsea’s defensive tactics in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final but they should be more concerned about their own rearguard before the return at Stamford Bridge.
With Carles Puyol suspended and Rafael Marquez injured, Barcelona look horribly exposed in central defence, especially with the powerful presence of Didier Drogba poised to overpower whoever is drafted in.
Amid the jubilation of Barcelona’s 6-2 thrashing of Real Mad rid on Saturday, Chelsea’s spies will have reported back that Real’s two goals were via the heads of Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Ramos courtesy of slack marking in the middle.
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It wasd Deja Vu for Barcelona who were once again frustrated by English opposition in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Last year it was Manchester United and this year it was Chelsea who left the Camp Nou with a goalless draw.
Barcelona have now failed to win their last five home games against Premier League sides. For the most part Barcelona created few chances until in added time, when substitutes Bojan Krkić and Aleksandr Hleb both missed great opportunities.
More bad news for Barcelona was that they lost central defender Rafael Márquez to a knee injury and his replacement Carles Puyol collected a yellow card which rules him out of next week’s return.
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Kick-off: Tuesday, 28 February 2009, 20:45 CET –Camp Nou, Barcelona
Barcelona’s Quest for Glory
This is a huge two week period for Barcelona. While all the focus in England has been on Manchester United’s pursuit of the quintuple, in Spain the talk has been all about Barcelona’s quest for a history-making treble voyage.
Barcelona faces four games that will make or break its season. Stumble at home in the first leg of the semi-final face-off with Chelsea and they can kiss their treble desires goodbye. And with Real Madrid coming up this Saturday, a trip to Stamford Bridge for the return clash next week, and a tricky meeting with Villarreal four days after that, Barcelona’s incredible season could turn very sour extremely quickly.
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The Wembley Cup is shaping up to be a terrific pre-season tournament. The four teams in the inaugural Wembley Cup this summer are Celtic, Egyptian Champions Al Ahly, Spurs and FC Barcelona.
Celtic will open up against Al Ahly on Friday, July 24, before facing Spurs on Sunday two days later at Wembley.
“I am delighted that we will be participating in the inaugural Wembley Cup this summer,” said Parkhead boss Gordon Strachan. We are looking forward to playing Spurs in London and it will be a privilege to be the first Scottish club side to ever play at Wembley. I am sure the tournament will provide a great spectacle for fans coming to the event.”
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FC Barcelona has confirmed that they will be touring the U.S. again in 2009. Barcelona is determined to have a presence in Major League Soccer by 2011, through an ownership stake in the the potential MLS expansion franchise in Miami. Miami FCB would play at Florida International University and benefit from a shared ethos and the extensive resources of the Barcelona sporting family.
MLS Rumors found a story on MLS Espanol that said:
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Didier Drogba is still yelling at the referee, but my attention has already turned to Rome. 
