Alexander Paulavic Hleb Style

This photography is a property of www.fcbarcelona.cat
They can be used in a free way by the mass media whenever the origin consists ( www.fcbarcelona.cat ) and do not be used for a commercial purpose.

Daniel Alves da Silva Style

This photography is a property of www.fcbarcelona.cat
They can be used in a free way by the mass media whenever the origin consists ( www.fcbarcelona.cat ) and do not be used for a commercial purpose.

Martín Cáceres Style

This photography is a property of www.fcbarcelona.cat
They can be used in a free way by the mass media whenever the origin consists ( www.fcbarcelona.cat ) and do not be used for a commercial purpose.

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu Style

This photography is a property of www.fcbarcelona.cat
They can be used in a free way by the mass media whenever the origin consists ( www.fcbarcelona.cat ) and do not be used for a commercial purpose.

Seydou Keita Style

This photography is a property of www.fcbarcelona.cat
They can be used in a free way by the mass media whenever the origin consists ( www.fcbarcelona.cat ) and do not be used for a commercial purpose.

Josep Guardiola

Josep Guardiola i Sala was born at Santpedor (Barcelona) on 18 January 1971. After a long and successful playing career and a brilliant season in charge of Barça B, in the summer of 2008 he took over as first team coach at the club.

After having been one of the most important players in Barça’s history, Josep Guardiola is the new coach for the 2008/09 season, replacing Frank Rijkaard after two seasons with no major titles.

Previously he was coach of FC Barcelona’s reserves, tasked with taking the side back into the Third Division after relegation the previous season. That he did with impressive authority: 28 victories, 9 draws and 5 defeats. In the final play-offs his side saw off Castillo and Barbastre with an overall balance of 9 goals in favour and none against.

Under Guardiola, Barça ‘B’ didn’t lose a single game at home and developed a playing style characterised by defensive pressure, playing wide and using set pieces. Guardiola’s young players became more flexible and intense with a spirit of playing for the team. This ability to play a more all-round game was also seen in the system used, which could be switched from 3-4-3 to 4-3-3 quite easily as a flexible response to the challenges posed by any rival.

Guardiola is the fifteenth Catalan to be FC Barcelona’s first team coach.

Before going into management, Guardiola was a class footballer who played almost all his career at FC Barcelona before going on to spells in Italy, Qatar and Mexico. He was at the Catalan club from when he joined its youth academy in 1984 until he left for Italy.

Among the trophies he won at Barça are six leagues (1990-91, 91-92, 92-93, 93-94, 97-98 and 98-99), a European Cup (91-92), a Cup Winners’ Cup (96-97) and two King’s Cups (96-97 and 97-98). During all this time Guardiola was the team’s organiser in his traditional number 4 shirt.

In Italy’s Serie A he made his debut with Brescia in the 2001-02 season, followed by a year with Roma before going back to Lombardy. Later on he went further afield to Al-Ahly in Qatar for two seasons (2003-04 and 2004-05) and Dorados de Sinaloa (Mexico), where he hung up his boots for the final time in 2006.

HONOURS

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

Victor Sánchez Mata

Name: Victor Sánchez Mata
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 08-09-1987
Place of Birth: Terrassa
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 73 kg

Víctor Sánchez was born in Terrassa and joined FC Barcelona in July 2005 from local neighbours Europa.

His ability to play in various positions made him a vital player for Barça B last season as he played almost everywhere except in goal.

Hard working and disciplined, he was instrumental in helping the B side gain promotion back to la Segunda B at the first time of asking as he made 29 appearances. He was unable to play in the Play-Offs because of injury. Made his debut for the first team in the Copa del Rey game against Alcoyano last season.

HONOURS

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

Sergio Busquets Burgos

Name: Sergi Busquets Burgos
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 16-07-1988
Place: Sabadell (Barcelona)
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 73 kg

Born in Sabadell, he joined the Barça youth system in the summer of 2005 from Jabac. That season, playing for the Juvenil A side, he won three major trophies in a team that also included the likes of Bojan, Giovani, Jeffren and Marc Crosas.

In the 2006-07 season, Sergi Busquets continued with Juvenil A and was one of the core players in the side coached by Àlex Garcia. In his third year at the level, and despite still being a midfielder, Sergi scored 7 goals in 26 games.

The next season, Busquets was promoted to Barça B under Pep Guardiola. He didn’t play until the 12th game, but from then on he managed to hold down a regular place in the starting line-up, playing 23 games and scoring two goals.

After playing with the first team in the Copa Catalunya in the 2007-08 season and again in 2008-09, Sergi made his league debut on September 13, 2008 against Racing (1-1). The player started the match and played the full 90 minutes. His excellent form for Barça took him to the Spain national team. He made his international debut on 1st April 2009 against Turkey (1-2) in the Ali Sami Yen stadium.

Sergi Busquets is the son of Carles Busquets, who played in goal for FC Barcelona in the 1990s.

PROFILE

Sergi Busquets is a very complete midfielder renowned for his intelligence on the field. Born in Sabadell, he positions himself well and is a good reader of the game. Busquets adds security to the team because he rarely gives the ball away and is also solid in his defensive duties.

He is a versatile player and gets into goalscoring positions. His tactical awareness and height (almost 190 cm) mean that despite his natural position being in midfield, he can also play at centre back or centre forward.

HONOURS

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

Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma

Name: Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 28-07-1987
Place of Birth: Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Height: 169 cm
Weight: 64 kg

The winger was born in Santa Cruz, Tenerife and did not move to FC Barcelona until August 2004 after starting his career with CD San Isidro.

Last season, Pedro enjoyed first team experience when he participated in the league games against Real Murcia in the 19th round of games and against Real Valladolid in the 29th round.

He was also a key player for the Barça B team that won promotion as he made 36 appearances and scored six goals. Pep Guardiola knows all about his ability and had no doubts when calling him up to join in pre-season with the first team. Despite mainly being left-footed, Pedro can strike the ball equally well with his right.

HONOURS

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

Albert Jorquera Fortia

Name: Albert Jorquera Fortià
Position: goalkeeper
Place of birth: Bescanó (Girona)
Date: 03-03-1979
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 77 kg

Jorquera joined the youth ranks of Barça on 2nd November 1994 from Vilobí CF. In the 96-97 and 97-98 seasons he played in the youth team and then moved on to Barca C (98-99) and Barca B (99-00).

He spent the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons on loan to second division B clubs AD Ceuta, and CE Mataró. He then returned to Barca B, also in second division B, as first choice keeper for the 2002-03 season.

He made the leap to the first team in the 2003-04 season as third choice goalkeeper behind Víctor Valdés and new signing Rüstü Recber, making a spectacular first team debut against Athletic Club Bilbao in the Nou Camp on 17th January 2004, where he put in a top performance. He then played four weeks later, also at home, this time to Atletico Madrid and was one of the stars in Barça's 3-1 win.

In the 2004-05 season, Jorquera had the chance to show his qualities in the last two games of the season, with Valdés being rested after securing the Zamora title for ending the season with the best goalkeeping record. The man from Bescanó has always performed well when called upon and has never complained about spending so much time on the bench.

In the 2005-06 season, Jorquera played 3 league, 1 Champions League and 4 Cup matches. In total, he let in 12 goals.

Jorquera didn’t play as much in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. In the former he didn’t play in the League at all, though he did turn out in all the King’s Cup games (the team reached the semi-finals). The latter was marked by a serious ligament injury to his right knee sustained in the game between the Basque Country and Catalonia on 29 December 2007 which forced him to sit out the rest of the season. FC Barcelona signed José Manuel Pinto to stand in for him.

CHARACTERISTICS

Jorquera has made excellent progress since joining the Barca academy. Thanks to his hard work and determination, he has developed great reflexes, anticipation and agility.

He stands out for his positive attitude and cheerful character. He's sober and the complete keeper. Consistency is one of his main defining characteristics.

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