Touré Yaya

Name: Gnégnéri Yaya Touré
Position: midfielder
Place of birth: Sokoura Bouake (Ivory Coast)
Date: 13-5-1983
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 90 kg

Gnégnéri Touré Yaya is the first player from the Ivory Coast to play for FC Barcelona and has brought with him immense international experience, having played in four different leagues across Europe during his career.

Touré Yaya (Sokoura Baouke, 13-05-1983) has had a remarkable route to Camp Nou. At 18 he began his time in European football in Belgium with Beveren, where he spent two-and-a-half years.

A transfer to Metalurg Donetsk in Ukraine followed in 2003, where he spent 18 months before opting to move on to Greece and join Olympiakos. During his year in the Piraeus-based club he played alongside former Blaugrana stars, Rivaldo, Haruna Babangida and Dani García as the team progressed in the Champions League.

Last summer, Touré was on the move once again as he signed for AS Monaco and went onto play 27 of the team's 34 league games during the 2006-07 campaign.

At international level, the 24-year-old is a regular in the Ivory Coast side and represented his country in their first ever appearance in the World Cup Finals last summer in Germany. He also appeared in the African Cup of Nations in the same year.

PROFILE

Touré Yaya is the first player from the Ivory Coast to play for Barça and is renowned for combining his strength and physical power in front of the back four with great technique. He is usually employed as a defensive midfielder and is capable of pushing forward to support the attack if required, as well as being adept at passing the ball at speed to keep moves flowing.

Despite standing at 1.87m-tall (6ft 2in), most of his goals have not come from his head. During his year with Monaco he netted five times in the league and nearly all of them came as he attacked the ball from the second line or from long range efforts.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Éric Abidal

Name: Éric Abidal
Position: defense
Place of birth: Lyon (France)
Date: 11-9-1979
Height: 186 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Éric Abidal’s arrival in France will be the first experience of professional football outside of France for this player born in Lyon. He was signed as a replacement for Gio.

Before coming to Barça, Éric Abidal (Lyon, 11-7-1979) played for four French sides. His first professional club was Lyon-la-Duchère, in the French CFA2 division in the 1999-00 season. A year later he moved on to Monaco in the French Ligue 1, making his debut on September 16, 2000 against Toulouse. He stayed in the principality for two years, consolidating his role as an important member of the team.

In summer 2002 Éric Abidal was transferred to Lille, where he played for two seasons and almost doubled his number of league appearances, playing in 35 of Lille’s 38 league games in the 2003-04 season.

At the end of that season, the full back returned to his hometown to play for Olympique Lyon, where he would stay until signing for Barcelona. In 2004 Abidal also made his international debut for ‘Les Bleus’ on August 18 against Bosnia.

He played at the World Cup in 2006, playing 90 minutes of six of his country’s seven game, in which France finished runners-up. Abidal played for three very successful seasons in Lyon, last season competing in 31 games in yet another title-winning season for his club, while also playing in seven Champions league matches and 10 internationals during his final season in France, 2006-07.

Éric Abidal joined FC Barcelona in the summer of 2007. The Frenchman played 30 League games, 10 in the Champions League and 6 in the Cup, sharing left-back duties with Sylvinho although on more than one occasion Frank Rijkaard used him as a central defender. At the end of the season he played for France in Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

PROFILE

Éric Abidal is a natural left back, although given his size (186 cm, 75 kg) he can easily slot in at centre back too. He likes to make runs up the wing as far as the opposition’s area, supplying crosses to the forwards. He is a very skilful and tactically aware player, and is noted for his ability to position himself well on the pitch.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Olympique Lyon
2006/07 Ligue 1
2005/06 French cup of champions
2005/06 Ligue 1
2004/05 French cup of champions
2004/05 Ligue 1

French national team
2006 World Cup Runners Up

Alexander Paulavic Hleb

Name: Alexander Hleb
Position: midfielder
Place of birth: Minsk (Belarus)
Date: 01-05-1981
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 74 kg

Alexander Hleb, the first Belarusian in club history has arrived at FC Barcelona as the fifth new signing of the summer of 2008, after demonstrating his qualities with both Stuttgart and Arsenal.

Born in Minsk (Belarus) on May 1, 1981, Alexander Hleb joined Barcelona on July 16, 2008. Signed from Premiership outfit Arsenal, where he played for three seasons, he was named the best player in his country in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 consecutively.

Alexander Hleb started out at FC Bate Borisov but at the tender age of 19, in the 2000/01 season he was off to the Bundesliga. It was there he started making himself known on the European stage with five seasons at Stuttgart from 2000/01 to 2004/05.

The Belarusian made an even bigger step forward in 2005 when he was picked up by London side Arsenal. He soon became a regular part of manager Arsène Wenger’s plans, as the Gunners qualified for a Champions League final losing to FC Barcelona in Paris), and it was there he spent two seasons alongside Thierry Henry, who he rejoins at FC Barcelona.

PROFILE

Renowned for being ambidextrous, Hleb is a player who creates plenty of tactical options due to his versatility and polyvalence. He is a midfielder but likes to help out in attack and makes dangerous penetrating runs through the middle.

He is used to pressure, is both athletic and quick, and able to play on either of the two wings, playing wide or more centrally, and is a frequent presence in the creation zone. He reads the game well and is an artful passer of the ball.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Bate Borisov
1998/99 Belarusian League

Individual titles
2002 Belarusian player of the year
2003 Belarusian player of the year
2005 Belarusian player of the year
2006 Belarusian player of the year
2007 Belarusian player of the year
2008 Belarusian player of the year

Daniel Alves da Silva

Name: Daniel Alves da Silva
Position: defender
Place of birth: Juazeiro (Brazil)
Date: 6-5-1983
Height: 173 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Official website: http://www.danialves20.com/eo/

Dani Alves is one of the strongest, most intense and athletic right sided players in the world. He arrived at FC Barcelona in the summer of 2008, aged 25 and after six seasons with Sevilla.

He was born on May 6, 1983 (Juazeiro, Brazil). Daniel Alves joined the Andalusian club in 2002 (signed from Bahía of Brazil), but it was in 2003/04 that he really came into his own. Alves played 29 games as he became the club’s first choice right back and helped his side to qualify for Europe.

Over time, Alves became one of the lynchpins of the Sevilla defence, but also contributed to the attack, and in 2005/06 won the UEFA Cup. He was named by UEFA as the player of the tournament in the 2005/06 season, and a few months later featured in the Sevilla side that beat FC Barcelona in Monaco to win the European Super Cup.

In the 2006/07 season, the Brazilian was once again a central part of the Sevilla team, and as well as the Spanish Super Cup, his side retained the UEFA Cup in Glasgow and also collected the Copa del Rey.

The year before signing for Barça the Brazilian won the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid and made his Champions League debut, with Sevilla surviving the group stages before going out to Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe. In the 2007/08 season, Alves played 33 league games, with only Navas making more appearances.

Alves has also made his mark on the Brazilian national side. In the summer of 2007 he played a major role in the Copa America winning team.

PROFILE

He may be 173 cm tall and weighs 64 kg but Alves is a physical presence on the pitch, and is able to bite anywhere on the pitch. He rarely tires, and like the typical Brazilian full back, patrols the whole right side of the pitch, participating as much in defence as attack. He has scored eight league goals for Sevilla during these trademark advances up the pitch, which have come as much with his left foot as with his right, and he is also lethal from dead ball situations.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Sevilla
2007/08 Spanish Super Cup
2006/07 Copa del Rey
2006/07 UEFA Cup
2006/07 European Super Cup
2005/06 UEFA Cup

Brazil National Side
2007 Copa America

Individual Titles
2005/06 best Player in UEFA Cup

Gabriel Alejandro Milito

Name: Gabriel Alejandro Milito
Position: defense
Place of birth: Bernal (Argentina)
Date: 7-9-1980
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 78 kg

Gabriel Milito is the twentieth Argentinian to wear the Barça shirt. He is a central defender who started out at Independiente in Avellaneda, and then spent four years at Zaragoza before coming to the Camp Nou.

Gabriel Milito was born in Bernal (Buenos Aires), on September 7, 1980. He came up through the youth ranks at Independiente, making his top flight debut aged 17 with the Avellaneda based club. 'El Mariscal', as he is known, led the side’s defence despite his young age, but his promising future was almost cut short by a serious injury. He tore cruciate ligaments in his right knee in 2001 and was out for nine months. And shortly after his return, he was injured for another four months, this time with a broken meniscus in his right foot.

Once he was back to full fitness, Gaby Milito was one of the main reasons for Independiente’s Opening Championship victory in 2002. He was named Argentinian Player of the Year and in the summer of 2004 made his move to Spain.

Milito was originally headed for Real Madrid. However, before signing his contract the club’s doctors concluded that he was not fully recovered from his knee injury and warned against signing the player. Milito went instead to Zaragoza, and that season won the Copa del Rey at Montjuïc, ironically beating Real Madrid. Later that year, Zaragoza also won the Spanish Super Cup and Milito was heralded as one of the finest defenders in the league. In four years at Zaragoza, he never failed to please.

In the 2005/06 and 2006/07 season, Gaby was joined by his older brother, Diego, at La Romareda. The Milito brothers were the stars of a side that won back to back UEFA Cups.

Gaby Milito has also found his way into the Argentina national team. He made his international debut in 2000 and played at the World Cup in Germany in 2006 and in the 2007 Copa America, where he was a regular feature in Alfio Basile’s side, which reached the final.

In the 2007/008 season he became a fixture at the heart of Barça’s defence. He played in 27 League games, scoring a goal and consistently turning in fine performances. In the return leg of the Champions League semi-final in Manchester, Milito tore a ligament in his right knee which will keep him out of action for months.

PROFILE

The Argentinian international, known as 'el Mariscal', is a respected, authoritarian, imposing and well-positioned centre back. He also a skilful playmaker and can help in attack. Although he is not particularly tall (1.79 m.), Milito is good in the air and can be dangerous from dead ball situations. He also has a very strong personality, and is a natural leader.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Zaragoza
2004/05 Spanish Super Cup
2003/04 Spanish Cup
Independiente Avellaneda
2002/03 Trofeo Apertura

Argentinian national team
1999 South American Under-20 championship

Silvio Mendes Campos, Sylvinho

Name: Sylvio Mendes Campos
Position: defender
Place of birth: Sao Paulo (Brasil)
Date of birth: 12-04-1974
Height: 173 cm
Weight: 66 kg

Sylvio Mendes Campos 'Sylvinho', has tried his luck in three of the most important leagues in the world: the Brazilian, English and Spanish. He has always been successful.

His professional career started back in 1994 in Corinthians, one of the clubs of his home town, Sao Paulo. After shining at club level, Mario Zagallo called him up to the national team for his 1997 debut against Russia.

His quality and consistence opened the doors to European football and in 1999 he left Corinthians for the Premier League and Arsenal. Following two seasons at Arsenal, where he quickly became a crowd favourite, he moved to Celta Vigo for the 2001-02 season. There he became an integral part of the team that in the 2003-04 season qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Sylvinho arrived in Barcelona in the summer of 2004 and since then he has always given sterling performances. In the 2004-05 season, however, he was sidelined for a month with torn knee ligaments. Once he had recovered, Sylvinho played in 21 League games and 3 in the Champions League.

In the 2005-06 season Sylvinho was virtually a fixture in the League yet rarely appeared in the Champions League where he was on the pitch for just 21 minutes in the Chelsea v Barça game when Gio van Bronckhorst got injured. Curiously enough Sylvinho won the League and the Champions League against two of his former clubs, Celta and Arsenal.

In the 2006-07 campaign the Brazilian continued to share the left back slot with Gio Van Bronckhorst. When the Dutchman left and Éric Abidal arrived, Sylvinho continued to alternate in the position but this time with the Frenchman. He even played on the wing in the 2007-08 season, for instance in the Champions League fixture with Schalke 04.

Sylvinho’s effort and commitment was rewarded with a one-year extension to his contract up to 30 June 2009.

CHARACTERISTICS

All Brazilian players, almost by genetic default, are touched by magic and graced with an attacking flair. Sylvinho, despite playing at left-back, is no exception to this rule.

His attacking instincts have allowed him to get down the wing throughout his career and he has a culture left-foot when it comes to crossing for the forwards.

As well as his solid defensive ability, the Brazilian is capable of slotting into the midfield. Sylvinho is renowned for his quality, tactical awareness and his concentration levels in every game.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey
2006/07 Spanish Supercup
2005/06 Champions League
2005/06 Liga
2005/06 Spanish Supercup
2004/05 Liga

Corinthians
1998/99 Paulista League
1997/98 Brazilian League
1996/97 Paulista League
1994/95 Paulista League
1994/95 Brazilian Cup

Seydou Keita

Name: Seydou Keita
Position: Midfielder
Place of Birth: Bamako (Mali)
Date: 16-01-1980
Height: 1.83 m
Weight: 77 kg

Seydou Keita became FC Barcelona’s first signing of the 2007/2008 season. The Mali player arrived from Seville to strengthen the azulgrana centre of midfield.

Born in Bamako (Mali) in 1980, Seydou Keita began to make a name for himself in European football in the French league. He signed for Olympic Marseilles in 1999/2000 but only stayed for one year without having had much luck. He moved to Lorient where he spent two seasons and the French Cup. Then it was on to Lens where he played for five seasons between 2003/04 and 2006/07. His final season was spectacular and he scored eleven goals in 37 league games and was named Ligue 1’s second best player behind Florent Malouda.

After eight years in France, Keita signed for Seville in the summer of 2007 and was almost an ever-present during the 2007/08 season. He played in 31 of a possible 38 games, starting 29 of them. He scored four goals and these showed that, amongst other qualities, he packs a powerful shot from distance.

Seydou Keita has been a full international for Mali since 2004. With ‘the Eagles’ he played in the 2008 African Cup of Nations but Mali was eliminated in the first round.

However, his career with his national side began at a young age and with good results. In fact, Keita won the balon d’or as best player in the U-20 World Cup in Nigeria in 1999. Mali finished third in the competition, which was won by a Spain side that included Xavi Hernández.

PROFILE

The Mali midfielder is a player who perfectly combines physical strength with technical ability and tactical awareness. Despite not being a forward, Keita also possesses a great shot with his left foot, especially from distance, which makes him a real threat to goalkeepers; the fifteen goals he scored in the two years before joining Barça are testament to that. The Malian has a lot to offer in midfield: he can play in a holding role as well as behind the attackers and can also play on the left.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Lorient
2001/02 French Cup

Individual Awards
1999 Player of the Tournament U-20 World Cup

Thierry Henry

Name: Thierry Henry
Position: forward
Place of birth: Les Ulis (France)
Date: 17-8-1977
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 83 kg

Thierry Henry is considered to be one of the best forwards in world football over the past decade. Elegance, ability and effectiveness are his main assets.

Born in Les Ulis (France) on August 17, 1977, he made his debut in top flight football with Monaco during the 1994-95 campaign, aged just 17. He began to show some of his ability on the right wing for the Principality-based outfit. After a brief spell at Juventus in 1998-99, Henry joined Arsenal, where he went on to show his true colours and become one of the best players in the history of the north London club.

Having moved into the centre of attack, Henry proved how lethal he was in front of goal at Arsenal even though he became known for drifting out to both flanks to pull his markers across the field. With him in the side, the label of 'Boring Arsenal' was forgotten as the Gunners became an attractive, attacking force in the Premiership and in Europe.

During his time in England he broke virtually every Arsenal club record. He became the Gunners' top goalscorer of all time with 214 goals and became the record scorer in the Premiership (since it was formed in 1992) with 164 goals as well as finishing as the scorer in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006).

His immense trophy haul includes a World Cup winners' medal as he was a member of the successful French squad in 1998. Two years after that he helped his country to win the European Championships in Belgium and Holland and then added the Confederations Cup to his collection in 2003. With over a hundred international caps, on 18 October 2007 he beat Michel Platini’s record of 41 goals for France.

At club level, Henry helped Arsenal win the Premiership twice (2002 and 2004) and the FA Cup on three occasions (2002, 2003 and 2005). On a personal note, he finished as Europe's top goalscorer and picked up the Golden Boot in 2004 and 2005.

He was Barça’s top scorer in the 2007/08 season, with 19 goals in the Champions League, League and King’s Cup. He is also one of the top suppliers of assists. Frank Rijkaard, who played him in 30 League games, regularly lined him up on the left wing.

PROFILE

Speed and technique are two of Henry's main characteristics, which he allies with efficiency and elegance. He is considered to be one of the most skilful players in the game with the ball at his feet as well as being an extremely intelligent footballer.

Despite having been moulded into a central striker under Arsène Wenger, Henry can play across the front line, which could well prove to be very useful as he vies for a place in the Barça team with Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi during the 2007-08 season.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Arsenal
2004/05 FA Cup
2004/05 Community Shield
2003/04 League
2002/03 FA Cup
2002/03 Community Shield
2001/02 FA Cup
2001/02 League

Monaco
1996/97 League

France
2006 World Cup runner-up
2003 Confederations Cup
2000 European Championship
1998 World Cup

Individual awards
2005/06 Premiership top goalscorer
2004/05 Premiership top goalscorer
2004/05 Golden Boot
2003/04 Premiership top goalscorer
2003/04 Golden Boot
2001/02 Premiership top goalscorer

José Manuel Pinto Colorado

Name: José Manuel Pinto Colorado
Position: Goalkeeper
Place of Birth: Puerto de Santa Maria (Cádiz)
Date of Birth: 08-11-1975
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 82 kg

José Manuel Pinto joined Barça on 18 January 2008 from Celta, the club he had played for during the previous ten seasons. He came on loan but FC Barcelona signed him permanently at the end of the 2007/08 season.

Born in Puerto de Santa Maria (Cádiz) on November 8, 1975, Pinto start his professional career in Andalucia. After spending three seasons with Real Betis's B side, he moved up to the first team and made his debut for the club during the 1997/98 campaign. A year later he agreed to move to Celta Vigo, where would spend the next decade before leaving to go to Camp Nou.

After being replaced by Toni Prats at Betis, Pinto opted to join Celta and it was there that he found stability and was awarded the captain's armband. He went on to play 126 games in la Primera, 56 matches in la Segunda A as well as appearing in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup regularly with the club. As well as helping the side to qualify for the Champions League in 2003/04, Pinto won the Zamora Trophy as the best keeper in the league in 2005/06.

That year, Pinto conceded just 28 goals in 37 league matches (an average of 0.75 per game) and helped guide the team to sixth place in the top flight and into the UEFA Cup. The season before had seen Víctor Valdés win the Zamora.

When playing for Celta in the Second Division, FC Barcelona bought him in the January transfer window as cover for Albert Jorquera, sidelined with a long-term knee injury. He came on loan but FC Barcelona signed him permanently at the end of the 2007/08 season, during which he made his League debut away at Deportivo and then played in two more matches.

PROFILE

Pinto is a strong goalkeeper, standing at 1.85m tall and weighing 82kg. His height and agility make him powerful in the air and he also has very quick reflexes to help him make a quick-reaction save when required. It is those reflexes that also make him a superb shot-stopper from close range, but he is not easy to beat from distance either.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Celta de Vigo
2001/02 Copa del Rey Runner-Up

Individual Awards
2005/06 Spanish League Zamora

Bojan Krkic Pérez

Name: Bojan Krkic Pérez
Position: forward
Place of birth: Linyola (Lleida)
Date of birth: 28-08-1990
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 65 kg

Bojan Krkic joins the senior squad for the 2006-07 season at the tender age of 16. In just one year he has progressed from the youth side to Barça B and now the first team.

Bojan Krkic was born in Linyola (Catalonia) on 28th August 1990. In just one season, from 2006-07 to 2007-08, this promising young forward has made the leap from Juvenil A to the first team. Along the way he played the second part of the season with Barça B in Second Division B.

Bojan joined Barça in 1999 becoming part of the Benjamí A boys squad. His rise through the ranks of the Barça academy teams was meteoric: Aleví B (2000-01), Aleví A (2001-02), Infantil B (2002-03), Infantil A (2003-04) and Cadet B (2004-05). He started the 2005-06 season with the Cadet A team but was soon promoted up to Juvenil A. The pattern was repeated in the 2006-07 season, which he began with Juvenil A and finished with Barça B.

During his half season with Barça B, he scored 10 goals and became the team’s top scorer.

He really arrived on the scene in 2007. He played in the European Under-17 Championship with Spain, both winning the tournament and scoring the winner against England in the final (1-0); he made his debut with Barça’s first team in a friendly played in Egypt, scoring once; and finally he made his debut with Spain’s Under-21 side at the age of just 16. A year to remember to be sure.

Bojan began the 2007/08 preseason with the first team. However, he couldn’t go on the club’s Asia tour as he was called up for the World Under-17 Cup in South Korea, where he notched 5 goals and Spain finished as runners-up.

Back in Barcelona, he began to get time on the pitch with Rijkaard in both the League and the Champions League. He set new records as Barça’s youngest player in the Champions League (on 19 September 2007 against Olympique de Lyon, when aged 17 years and 22 days); Barça’s youngest goalscorer (against Villarreal on 20 October in the same year, aged 17 years, 1 month and 22 days); and the second youngest goalscorer in the Champions League (aged 17 years and 217 days when he scored against Schalke 04, just 22 days later than Oforiquaye, the youngest goalscorer in the Champions League).

Thus the 2007/08 season consolidated Bojan as one of the finest strikers in the League, in which he scored 10 goals and was in the starting line-up 14 times.

PROFILE

Bojan is fast and has the ability to go past his marker. Despite his youth, he is used to dealing with defenders that are stronger and more experienced than him. His bursts of speed and his skill with the ball at his feet are two of his virtues. However, his main strength is his killer instinct in front of goal.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Spain
2007 European under-17 Champion
2007 World Cup under-17 Runner-up