With the two goals scored last night Samuel Eto'o has reached a grand total of 100 goals for Barça. He has taken just over four seasons to achieve this. In his first season (2004/05) he scored 29, followed by 34 in 2005/06, in 2006/07 he was out injured for a long time but still managed 13, while last season he scored 18 despite again missing half the season due to injury and the African Cup. This season he has now netted 6 times.

His goals have come in four different competitions: 80 goals have been scored in La Liga, 17 in the Champions League, 2 in the Copa del Rey, and 1 was scored in the Spanish supercopa. Eto'o is only 27 years old and for me still the best goalscorer in the world, I wouldn't bet against him scoring another 100 for the club....

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Football Club Barcelona took a giant step towards the next round of the Champions League with a 4-0 win over Wisla Krakow at Camp Nou tonight. Samuel Eto'o who looked to be on his way out of the club scored twice and there were goals too from the excellent Xavi Hernandez and from an improved Thierry Henry

Barça had to wait until the 14th minute for the first decent chance when Xavi's free kick found Henry unmarked but the Frenchman's header was well saved. Then Barça began to turn up the rhythm. In the 18th minute Marquez dribbled out of defence before sending a great pass through to Eto'o as the defence looked for offside, Eto'o ran on to beat the keeper with a left-footed shot into the...

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Not a lot to report from the last two days in Barcelona, the beginning of the Olympic Games means the local sports papers have plenty of other news to fill their pages meaning the transfer rumours can be put to one side. However, what can be reported is that Marc Crosas move to Celtic has been confirmed and the player was presented before Celtic's win against St Mirren this weekend.

For €500,000, Celtic have got an absolute bargain. For Crosas too it is an excellent opportunity as competing against the likes of Xavi and Iniesta he was always going to have an uphill struggle to break into Barça's midfield. I've probably only...

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With the crucial Champions League qualifier against Wisla Krakow just four days away Barça returned to the Miniestadi this morning to continue preparation for the match. Barça will also have a training session this afternoon at 18.30. Tomorrow the players will train only in the morning (9.30) but on Monday they will return to the routine of training twice a day. Today's sessions are expected to be light given that the players are still recovering from the effects of jet lag but the intensity of the sessions will increase towards match day.

For many this game may seem like a pushover but the importance of the game is undeniable. Should Barça slip up and get knocked out it would be a sporting,...

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Barça continued their preseason run of good form with a 2-6 win over the New York Red Bulls tonight at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The first half was much better than the second when Samuel Eto'o was on the pitch and with two more goals he increased his preseason total to five in just 159 minutes. Joan Laporta, Txiki Begiristain, Pep Guardiola - we have our number nine here already, please don't balls things up by selling him.

Barça dominated the first half completely but took 15 minutes before penetrating the Red Bulls' defence, but when Barça switched into another gear the result was devastating. First Eto'o got past his man on the left and centred for Thierry Henry to finish but...

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After some initial reports that Barça were trying to get either Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow to agree to playing the second leg at Camp Nou, it has now been confirmed that the first leg of the Champions league qualifier will take place at Camp Nou on August 13. The 2nd leg will be played on Aug 26/27.

Meanwhile Barça are in New York preparing for tomorrow night's game against the New York Red Bulls. Barça trained in Central Park and also had representatives at the opening of Wall Street today. They are publicising an excellent campaign to combat malaria called "Malaria No More", I have to say that things like this make me proud to be a...

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Barça took their preseason total to 19 goals in 4 matches after scoring five more in the win over Mexican team Chivas. Samuel Eto'o chipped in with two second half goals to add to the debate over his future, while there were first goals for the club from Alexandr Hleb and Martin Caceres

Guardiola surprised by playing Henry on the left with Hleb playing as a false centre forward with Pedro cutting in from the right. After just 11 minutes Hleb played the ball back to Pedro who hit a great left-footed shot that crashed against the crossbar before bouncing down over the line; however, the linesman didn't see it that way and the score remained 0-0.

Chivas had their best chance of the half after a poor back pass from Rafa Marquez, but Santana's attempted chip failed to clear Pinto who...

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The summer saga of Samuel Eto'o continues. Today Joan Laporta admitted there was still a possibility that Eto'o could stay at Barça. Laporta said that "Samuel's case is not irrevesible" despite the fact that Pep Guardiola has stated that Eto'o does not enter in his plans. Due to Eto'o's high wage demands he is not receiving many firm offers from other clubs despite interest from most of the top clubs in Europe.

Reports suggest that Eto'o is giving everything in training and his performance against Dundee United in Saturday's 1-5 win shows he is in good form. Eto'o may be a difficult character who occasionally causes problems for team unity; however, given the options of Adebayor, Drogba or our very own Thierry Henry for the number 9 position this season I have to say that Eto'o is better than...

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Reports from Scotland suggest that Pep Guardiola is working the players hard. Early training sessions which include a run from the hotel to the training ground, appear to be more intense than they had been previously under Frank Rijkaard. The negative side of this is that Sylvinho, Eto'o, Abidal, Oleguer and Marc Crosas have all suffered minor injuries which will mean none of them are likely to be risked in tomorrow's game at Murrayfield against Hibs. 

Also missing will be the Eurocopa heroes Puyol, Iniesta and Xavi who this morning passed medicals in Barcelona before flying out to join their teammates in Scotland. this means the team for tomorrow could look something like this: Valdés; Alves, Marquez, Pique, Caceres; Hleb, Toure, Keita; Messi, Henry, Bojan. I'm looking forward...

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Just a quick post this morning as I try to combine my blogging with my busy social schedule here in London. The Spanish papers are saying that Barça and Samuel Eto'o are working on finding a move for the player. What is most surprising is the destinations that are being touted. That Eto'o could end up moving to Uzbekistan sounds so unreal that I wonder if there may be some sort of elaborate joke going on. But reports say that the player has been out there for talks. Another possible destination could be Tottenhm who look likely to lose both Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane in the near future, but this would see Eto'o at a club who are not in the Champions League. Where are the bids from the big teams? Surely Eto'o should be hot property and I would have suspected some interest from the Chelseas and Arsenals and Juventeses of this world. According to El Mundo Deportivo Didier Drogba could still be in line as Eto'o's replacement, and while he may be getting on a...Read Post »