FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.12.2007 11:44

Working on pressure

Jesús Carrillo / Anna Segura

Barça had their penultimate training session on Friday ahead of the clásico on Sunday. The focus of the day’s work was putting pressure on the opposition.

An almost complete FC Barcelona squad trained at the Miniestadi, with only the injured Lionel Messi and Oleguer Presas not there. The duo concentrated on individual treatment while the remainder of the squad was put through its paces on the field.

Combined circuit

On a cold, wet morning the players were warmed by the news that José Edmílson has been declared fully fit. After warming up and the usual drills, the players divided into two groups and worked on one-twos and shots on goal.

Three way practice

The pitch was then scaled down for a series of practice matches involving three teams. The green team featured Touré, Marc Crosas, Iniesta, Zambrotta, Thuram, Henry and Ronaldinho. The blues were Gudjohnsen, Márquez, Deco, Milito, Giovani y Sylvinho, with Thierry Henry also contributing, while the yellow bibs were handed to Ezquerro, Edmílson, Eto'o, Puyol, Bojan, Abidal and Xavi.

Yellow victory

The matches were played until the first goal was scored, and the goalscoring team stayed on. The dominant side was the one in the yellow bibs, winning three games thanks to goals from Ezquerro, Eto'o and Bojan. Gudjohnsen and Iniesta scored the goals in the other two sides’ only wins.

The main focus of the activity was pressure, with the players advancing their lines and making it harder for the opposing side to get the ball out of defence.