FCBARCELONA.CAT

24.08.2007 11:33

Opening game ever closer

Berta Brau/Miriam Nadal

Barça continue preparations for the opening game of the season. Rijkaard’s men began training at 10:00am this morning at the Masia with 20 of the first team squad and two extra, Crosas and Olmo.

20 Players of the squad, along with Crosas and Olmo, began training today at 10:00am. The players trained under the orders of the physical and technical trainers in order to be firing on all cylinders come match day. The only player missing from the session was Icelandic midfielder Eidur Gudjohnsen, who is recovering from injury.

Standard exercises for Sunday

The squad followed the standard training plan Friday morning. They started with a warm up, did ball control exercises, sprints and circuits using obstacles on the pitch.

The team did a variety of movements and actions covering the span of the pitch at the Masia in order to carry out some speed training. The first circuit involved keeping hold of the ball while passing and changing positions. Every player took part in this exercise less the goalkeepers, who practised aside with Juan Carlos Unzue.

The second circuit, the objective was finishing, which involved testing the keepers, Valdes and Jorquera.

Finishing touches

Rijkaard was seen very involved during the circuits. The Dutch coach met with the squad on a number of occasions in order to iron out any problems he observed during the session.

Once the physical exercises were completed, the squad split into two to contest the habitual game to finish off the session. The yellows were Valdés, Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Milito, Xavi, Giovani, Marc Crosas, Abidal, Touré and Thuram; the blues Jorquera, Messi, Henry, Motta, Ezquerro, Márquez, Deco, Iniesta, Zambrotta, Sylvinho and Oleguer. During the game, the trainers wanted the teams to work particularly on putting on the pressure and to work hard down the wings.