Alves cleared for Barca opener

A delighted Daniel Alves was given the green light to be included for Barcelona's opening league game against Numancia.
The new Barcelona signing hurt his shoulder in the Champions League against Wisla Krakov last week and was doubtful for the season opener.

It was initially thought that the injury was serious enough to sideline Alves for up to a month, but tests have confirmed that he will in fact be able to take his place in the side to play Numanciaon Aug. 31.

"I am delighted at the news, because I was not expecting it," Alves told the club website www.fcbarcelona.com.

"I am really happy because it was very important for me to be able to start the competition. It is a good piece of news for a good start to the season," he concluded.

Club doctor Ricard Pruna had even better news for Alves, as the chief of Barcelona's medical services confirmed he could even fully recover in time for the Champions League return leg next week.

"It is only a first degree twist on his shoulder and it is progressing very well. Dani is working in the pool and also on the training ground. He won't have any problems being fit to play Numancia and we even hope he will be able to face the Poles," said Pruna.

Barcelona face a tricky trip to newly-promoted Numancia on 31 August 2008.

source

Guardiola To Adopt Italian Method

FC Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola is set to turn to an Italian coaching philosophy to help his squad improve, but fortunately for fans, the team’s playing style will not be affected.

New Barça boss, Guardiola, looks set to implement even more changes at the club following his sweeping transformations on and off the pitch during the pre-season.

The former captain wants his squad of players to form an even tighter bond with each other and to do that, he will adopt an approach that he picked up during his brief playing stint with Italian side, Brescia.

Pep is looking to isolate his players together for certain periods of time, away from the outside world and from the glares of the press and photographers. The first stage of his plan will be to make the players spend an hour together every morning for breakfast with a menu that will consist mainly of fruits and fibres and no more items from the local bakery.

The 37 year old coach will also be moving their usual training camp from La Masia to the club’s Sport City grounds, but it will first have to undergo slight modifications as he does not think it currently meets his required standards.

The Blaugrana brought in a total of five new players in the off-season while also promoting a number of their canteranos to the first team.