If this is the reaction to the players being offered a special bonus, it would be better that Laporta keeps the money in the bank. Barça were comprehensively outfought by a mediocre Valencia team who now go on to face Getafe in the final. Frank Rijkaard made just two changes to the team that drew at Almeria, Toure Yaya came in for Edmilson while Zambrotta returned at right back which meant Puyol moved to centre back in place of Thuram. The changes looked like it would lead to an improvement but instead things just got worse.

Barça began promisingly creating the first couple of chances, after just three minutes Milito met Xavi's corner with a firm header that was headed onto his own crossbar by Maduro, and then a couple of minutes later Iniesta hit a shot from 25 yards that Hildebrand save...

Ronaldinho Gaucho has been left out of the 16-man squad for tomorrow night's Copa del Rey semi final second leg despite declaring a willingness to play whether he was 100% fit or not. Ronaldinho was criticized in the press this week when doctors claimed he was not injured after he dropped out of a training session claiming he felt a slight pain. Toure Yaya, however, has been included for the game despite his back problems. He should be applauded for his commitment to the team.

Valencia need a win to save a season that has gone from bad to worse. Since gaining a creditable 1-1 draw in the first leg at Camp Nou, they have lost 2-0 at Espanyol, drawn 2-2 at home to Deportivo and last Saturday they lost 1-2 at home to Sevilla. Their problems were highlighted by their president Juan Soler leaving...

Barça president Joan Laporta has reportedly offered the players a special bonus to beat Valencia tomorrow night. Laporta talked to the players for twenty minutes with the agreement of Frank Rijkaard and Txiki Begiristain, and asked for unity and that the players should isolate themselves from external comments. Laporta is supposedly worried that a failure to reach the Copa del Rey final could have a disastrous effect on the remainder of the season.

While I applaud Laporta for taking the initiative to try to get the most out of the players, I do wonder how much he himself has been influenced by the external comments from the press after Sunday's draw at Almeria. I also have to question whether a bit of extra cash to players who already earn millions will really make any difference. While ...

A last gasp effort from Xavi Hernandez gave Barça a deserved equalizer in tonight's Copa del Rey semi final first leg game with Valencia. David Villa had given Valencia the lead against the run of play in the 70th minute, but Barça's hard work was finally rewarded with a goal that gives them every chance for the second leg in three weeks' time. 

There were few surprises in the starting lineup, Iniesta was left on the bench to make room for the return of Deco, while Abidal and Henry returned in place of Sylvinho and Ronaldinho. Valencia played with what looked to be an exciting 4-3-3 formation, but in the end they played with everyone back awaiting the counter attack.

Barça started promisingly and had a tremendous triple chance to take the lead in the 7th minute, Messi ...

As expected Thierry Henry and Deco return to the squad for tomorrow night's Copa del Rey semi final first leg against Valencia at Camp Nou (kick off 10pm). The surprise is the exclusion of Ronaldinho who will rest along with Sylvinho, Gudjohnsen and Giovani. Rafa Marquez has not recovered from his injury yet, while Jorquera, Oleguer and Ezquerro are all still injured.

It will be an emotional return to Camp Nou for Valencia coach Ronald Koeman and his assistants Jose Mari Bakero and Toni Bruins Slot. It finally seems as if they are turning things around at Valencia after a more than rocky start, they are unbeaten in their four games so far in February. Valencia will be without the injured Marchena, Alexis, Morientes and Miguel, while Koeman continues to leave out Cañizares, Albelda and Angul...

The kick off time has been announced for the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg game between Barça and Valencia. The game will once again kick off at 10pm local time which will no doubt please all the poor sods who have to work in the morning. The second leg at Mestalla will take place three weeks later.

Barça have been drawn to face Valencia in the Copa del Rey semi finals. The first game will take place on February 27 in Camp Nou and the second leg in Mestalla will be on March 19. The dates may change a day this way or that depending on the TV companies.

If Ronald Koeman can keep his job until then, it will see an emotional return for him to Camp Nou. Valencia are hoping to save their season in the cup as their league form is terrible and they have been knocked out of Europe. Back in Louis van Gaal's time as Barça coach Valencia were a constant torment, knocking us out of the Copa del Rey and also beating us in the Champions League semi-final of 2000. Horrible memories.

Barça will be confident of reaching their first Copa del Rey final since 1998. The opp...

Once again a single goal from Thierry Henry was enough to get Barça through a round of the Copa del Rey. Having scored Barça's only goal in two games against Sevilla in the last 16, Henry's header before half time gave Barça a 1-0 aggregate win over Villarreal to secure a place in tomorrow's semi-final draw.

Henry got the goal, and Ronaldinho made his long awaited return when he came on for the last 15 minutes, but the star of the night was Leo Messi who caused the Villarreal headaches all night with his dribbling skills and provoked the sending-off of Pascal Cygan. Frank Rijkaard selected his strongest team with Milito and Abidal returning to the defence which was solid all night, giving Victor Valdés one of his easier nights in goal.

The first half was quite cagey with Villarreal a...

Barça gave a vastly improved performance from the last time they visited El Madrigal and were perhaps unlucky not to achieve more than a 0-0 draw to take into next Thursday's second leg at Camp Nou. Carles Puyol had to pull out hours before kick off due to a heavy cold which meant a game for Lilian Thuram in defence, and Frank Rijkaard preferred to reserve Leo Messi for the second half.

Barça started the game in determined mood and showed the aggression and concentration needed against an opponent of the level of Villarreal. After just five minutes Deco crossed to Iniesta who tried to dribble through a crowd of defenders and the ball broke back to Thierry Henry but his side-footed shot went just wide. Villarreal had their first shot in the 12th minute but Valdés saved easily from Nihat's ...

Jose Edmilson returns to an 18-man squad for tomorrow night's Copa Del Rey quarter-final first leg against Villarreal in El Madrigal (kick off 10pm local time). Eric Abidal will miss the game after bruising his left foot in training, and Ronaldinho is still recovering from his knee problems, though he is looking close to returning.

Barça have unhappy recent memories of their trips to Villarreal having lost two league games in 2007: 2-0 in April and 3-1 in October. Both times Barça were comprehensively outplayed and the only positive point was Bojan Krkic scoring his first league goal in the defeat in October. There have been some signs recently that Barça can play with more concentration and aggression than they showed in October. Manuel Pellegrini's men looked superb on Saturday when t...