2007–08 FC Barcelona season

Barcelona
2007–08 season
President Joan Laporta
Head Coach Frank Rijkaard
Stadium Camp Nou
La Liga 3rd
Copa del Rey Semi-finals
UEFA Champions League Semi-finals
Top goalscorer League:
Samuel Eto'o (16)

All:
Thierry Henry (19)
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

Though it did not produce silverware, Futbol Club Barcelona's 2007–08 season would mark a period of change within the club, having many firsts and lasts. Most importantly, this would be Ronaldinho's last season with the club, being displaced by the coming of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. This season also marked the breakthrough of young talent Bojan into the first team, as well as the emergence of Lionel Messi as one of the team's key players. On the other hand, this would be Lilian Thuram's last season as a professional footballer, as well as Gianluca Zambrotta's last with the club.

Events

Thierry Henry, a €24 million move from Arsenal.

Players

Squad information

Carles Puyol, the captain of FC Barcelona in the 2007-08 season.

The squad has reasonably changed in the summer transfer window. The biggest addition was Thierry Henry, with a transfer fee of 24 millions. That equals the transfer fee paid for Samuel Eto'o in 2004, but just below the €30 million paid for Ronaldinho in 2003. Other additions were Éric Abidal, Yaya Touré, and Gabriel Milito that are part of the current start team. On the other end, some important players that were often used last season have left the club, such as, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ludovic Giuly. Barcelona still used a great number of players developed in its youth system, 9 of 23, and have two new additions this season: Giovani dos Santos and Bojan (17 years old, the youngest player on the squad).

Most of the players have contracts beyond this end of season, but Deco, an important player, has his contract ending in 2008. The captain is still Carles Puyol, who is from Barcelona's youth system, plays in the first squad since 1999 and currently is the player with the most appearances (268). Currently, the highest scorer is Ronaldinho, with 80 goals. Also Ronaldinho, from August of this year, has a European passport. On mid-October, Samuel Eto'o received Spanish nationality, making him an EU player.[11] The only non-EU player is Yaya Touré. Because Spain ratified the Cotonou Agreement in 2007, however, Touré is now considered an EU player, as his native country of Ivory Coast is a signatory to that agreement, and the 2003 Kolpak ruling extended the Bosman ruling to nations with an associate trading relationship with the EU.

As of 21 October
N
P
Nat.
Name
Age
EU
Since
App
Goals
Ends
Transfer fee
Notes
1 GK Spain V. Valdés (VC3)25EU 1998 210 0 2010 Youth system
11 RB Italy Zambrotta 30EU 2006 74 3 2010 €14M
5 CB Spain Puyol (captain)29EU 1992 303 6 2010 Youth system
3 CB Argentina Milito 26EU 2007 39 1 2011 €17M
22 LB France Abidal 27EU 2007 40 0 2011 €15M
6 RM Spain Xavi (VC2)27EU 1994 288 28 2010 Youth system
24 DM Ivory Coast Touré Yaya 24Non-EU 2007 32 2 2011 €9M Under Kolpak ruling
8 LM Spain A. Iniesta 23EU 2002 211 17 2010 Youth system
19 RW Argentina Messi 20EU 2004 97 40 2014 Youth system
9 CF Cameroon Eto'o 26EU 2004 137 89 2010 €24M
14 LW France Henry 29EU 2007 40 14 2011 €24M
25 GK Spain Jorquera 28EU 2001 17 0 2008 Youth system
23 CB Spain Oleguer 27EU 2002 165 1 2010 Youth system
21 CB France Thuram 35EU 2006 50 0 2008 €5M
4 CB Mexico Márquez 28EU 2003 166 8 2010 €5M
16 LB Brazil Sylvinho 33EU 2004 92 3 2008 €2M
15 DM Brazil Edmílson 30EU 2004 89 0 2008 €10M
20 LM PortugalBrazil Deco 29EU 2004 151 19 2008 €15M €15M + Quaresma
10 LW Brazil Ronaldinho (VC1)27EU 2003 196 89 2010 €30M EU passport
7 CF Iceland Guðjohnsen 28EU 2006 72 13 2009 €12M
27 FW Spain Bojan 16EU 2007 40 10 2009 Youth system
17 FW Mexico Giovani 18EU 2007 33 1 2009 Youth system EU passport
18 CF Spain Ezquerro 30EU 2005 38 7 2008 Free
13 GK Spain Pinto 31EU 2008 0 0 2008 loan

Players in / out

In

N
P
Name
EU
Country
Age
Type
Moving from
Transfer
window
Ends
Transfer
fee
Source
14 FW Henry EU France29 Transfer Green tickY ArsenalEngland Summer 2011 €24M FCBarcelona.cat
24 MF Touré Yaya Non-EU Ivory Coast24 Transfer Green tickY MonacoFrance Summer 2011 €9M FCBarcelona.cat
FCBarcelona.cat
22 DF Abidal EU France27 Transfer Green tickY LyonFrance Summer 2011 €15M FCBarcelona.cat
3 DF Milito EU Argentina26 Transfer Green tickY Zaragoza Summer 2011 €17M +
€3.5M in variables
FCBarcelona.cat
17 FW Giovani EU Mexico18 Promote Barcelona B Summer 2009 Youth system FCBarcelona.cat
27 FW Bojan EU Spain16 Promote Barcelona B Summer 2009 Youth system FCBarcelona.cat
13 GK Pinto EU Spain31 Loan → Celta de Vigo Winter 2008 €0.5M FCBarcelona.cat
FCBarcelona.cat

Total spending: Decrease €65.5 million

Out

N
P
Name
EU
Country
Age
Status
Moving to
Transfer
window
Transfer
fee
Source
12 DF Gio EU Netherlands32 Contract Termination Red XN FeyenoordNetherlands Summer Free
22 FW Saviola EU Argentina25 Contract Termination Red XN Real Madrid Summer Free RealMadrid.com
8 FW Giuly EU France30 Transfer Green tickY RomaItaly Summer €3.2M FCBarcelona.cat
28 GK Rubén EU Spain23 Loan → Racing Ferrol Summer N/A lavozdegalicia.es
FW Maxi López EU Argentina23 Transfer Green tickY FC MoscowRussia Summer €2M Marca.com
2 RB Belletti EU Brazil31 Transfer Green tickY ChelseaEngland Summer €5.5M chelseafc.com
3 MF Thiago Motta EU Brazil24 Transfer Green tickY Atlético Madrid Summer €1M +
2M in variables
FCBarcelona.cat

Last updated: 1 February
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.

Total income: Increase €11.7 million.

Expenditure: Decrease €53.8 million.

Squad stats

Víctor Valdés has the most starts in this season.

Víctor Valdés and Éric Abidal have been the only two players that have started all the matches (excepting Copa Catalunya, when Barcelona didn't use the same players as for the other competitions). Previously, Gianluca Zambrotta and Yaya Touré started all the matches until they got injured. Oleguer replaced Zambrotta and Andrés Iniesta replaced Touré. Giovani dos Santos and Bojan were the substitute forwards, while Santiago Ezquerro played only in the Copa Catalunya, as well as Eiður Guðjohnsen playing once. Thierry Henry started the majority of the matches when Samuel Eto'o got injured. He scored his first hat trick wearing Barça's jersey, and he's the second goal scorer with four goals. Ronaldinho missed three matches due to an injury.[14]

As of 5 February
Total La Liga UEFA Champions League Copa del ReyCopa Catalunya
No.
P
Nat.
Name
Sts
App
Gls
App
Gls
App
Gls
App
Gls
App
Gls
1 GKSpain V. Valdés 52 52 35 11 6
3 CBArgentina Milito 41 42 1 27 1 9 6
4 CBMexico Márquez 26 37 2 23 2 8 5 1
5 CBSpain Puyol 45 47 1 30 10 1 7
6 RMSpain Xavi 50 54 9 35 7 12 1 7 1
7 FWIceland Guðjohnsen 19 37 3 23 2 8 6 1
8 MFSpain A. Iniesta 43 49 4 31 3 11 1 7
9 CFCameroon Eto'o 27 28 18 18 16 7 1 3 1
10 LWBrazil Ronaldinho 20 26 9 17 8 8 1 1
11 RBItaly Zambrotta 37 41 29 7 5
13 GKSpain Pinto 3 3 3
14 LWFrance Henry 40 47 19 30 12 10 3 7 4
15 DMBrazil Edmílson 7 15 11 1 3
16 LBBrazil Sylvinho 17 24 1 14 4 4 2 1
17 FWMexico Giovani 16 38 4 28 3 5 1 5
18 FWSpain Ezquerro 4 6 3 3 1 2 2 1
19 RWArgentina Messi 34 40 16 28 10 9 6 3
20 LMPortugal
Brazil
Deco 24 29 1 18 1 6 5
21 CBFrance Thuram 25 28 18 6 4
22 LBFrance Abidal 43 46 30 10 6
23 CBSpain Oleguer 11 17 12 2 1 2
24 DMIvory Coast Touré Yaya 37 38 2 26 1 9 1 3
25 GKSpain Jorquera 4 4 1 1 2
26 MFSpain Crosas 2 5 1 2 2
27 FWSpain Bojan 20 48 12 31 10 9 1 8 1
28 GKSpain Oier 1 1 1
30 DMSpain Víctor Sánchez 1 2 1 1
31 CBSpain Valiente 1 1
33 RWSpain Pedro 3 2 1
36 MFSpain Víctor Vázquez 1 3 1 1 2 1
37 DFSpain Fali 2 1 1
38 MFSpain Rueda 1 1

Last updated: 17 May
Source: FCBarcelona.cat
Ordered by start team and position on pitch (from back right to front left)
0 shown as blank

Disciplinary record

Deco, the most booked player.
N
P
Nat.
Name
Notes
11 RB Italy Zambrotta 7 0 1
4 CB Mexico Márquez 9 1 0
3 CB Argentina Milito 9 1 0
20 LM PortugalBrazil Deco 12 0 0 24 appearances, booked every other match.
5 CB Spain Puyol 11 0 0
24 CM Ivory Coast Touré Yaya 8 0 0
17 FW Mexico Giovani 6 0 0
8 MF Spain A. Iniesta 5 0 0
19 RW Argentina Messi 5 0 0
22 LB France Abidal 4 0 0
9 FW Cameroon Eto'o 3 0 0
7 CF Iceland Guðjohnsen 3 0 0
14 CF France Henry 3 0 0
6 RM Spain Xavi 3 1 0
27 FW Spain Bojan 2 0 0
21 CB France Thuram 2 0 0
23 CB Spain Oleguer 1 0 0
16 LB Brazil Sylvinho 1 0 0
1 GK Spain V. Valdés 1 0 0

Last updated: 12 April
Source: FCBarcelona.cat
Only competitive matches
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Start formations

As last season,[15] Frank Rijkaard still starting all matches using a 4–3–3 formation.

As of 3 February
Qnt Formation Match(es)
52 4-3-3 All matches

Last updated: 12 April
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches
Only competitive matches.

Club

Coaching staff

Frank Rijkaard, managing Barcelona since 2003.

This season will be the fifth consecutive season for Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona's manager. Even though Barça did not win any major competition last season,[16] club president Joan Laporta confirmed Rijkaard's presence for this season.[17] All staff from last season, except doctor Gil Rodas, are remaining.[18]

As of 13 October
Position Staff
Head coach Netherlands Frank Rijkaard
Assistant coach Netherlands Johan Neeskens / Spain Eusebio Sacristán
Goalkeeping coach Spain Juan Carlos Unzué
Fitness coach Paco Seirul·lo / Albert Roca
Doctors Ricard Pruna / Toni Tramullas
Representative Carles Naval

Last updated: 19 September
Source: FCBarcelona.cat

Kit

Supplier: Nike
Features: UNICEF (a noncommercial agreement, see FCBarcelona.cat)

Home
Away
Third

Source: FCBarcelona.cat
Notes: Socks have stripes not shown here.

Other information

President Spain Joan Laporta
Vice-president and sports affairs Spain Marc Ingla
Technical secretary Spain Txiki Beguiristáin
Vice-president and institutional relations Spain Albert Vicens
Vice-president and economical affairs Spain Ferran Soriano
Vice-president and marketing-media Spain Jaume Ferrer
Security affairs Spain Alfonso Castro
Ground (capacity and dimensions) Camp Nou (98.772 / 105x68m)
Budget €315m

Last updated: 11 January
Source: FC Barcelona Board Members and Budget

Competitions

Overall

As in nine out of the last ten seasons, FC Barcelona is going to be present in all major competitions this season. First division, Copa del Rey in Spain and UEFA Champions League in Europe. Also, Copa Catalunya in Barça's native autonomous community of Catalonia, but using mostly Barcelona B's players (see matches' reports). Their goal, set at the start of the season, is to win all the possible trophies.[19][20] So far, they ended as runners-up in the less important Copa Catalunya.

As of 11 October
Competition Started round Final
position / round
First match Last match
La Liga 3 26 August 200717 May 2008
Copa Catalunya Semi-finals Runner-up 5 September 200711 September 2007
UEFA Champions League Group stage Semi-finals 19 September 200729 April 2008
Copa del Rey Round of 32 Semi-finals 13 November 200720 March 2008

Last updated: 18 May
Source: Competitions

La Liga

Classification

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Real Madrid (C) 38 27 4 7 84 36+48 85 2008–09 UEFA Champions LeagueGroup stage
2 Villarreal 38 24 5 9 63 40+23 77
3 Barcelona 38 19 10 9 76 43+33 67 2008–09 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
4 Atlético Madrid 38 19 7 12 66 47+19 64

Source: 2007–08 La Liga
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 19 10 9 69 37  +32 67 14 2 3 44 9  +35 5 8 6 25 28  −3

Last updated: 7 May.
Source: Competitive Matches

UEFA Champions League

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Spain Barcelona 6420123+914
France Lyon 63121110+110
Scotland Rangers 621379−27
Germany VfB Stuttgart 6105715−83

Matches

Competitive

M
Date
Tournament
Round
Ground
Opponent
Score1
Report
126 AugustLa Liga1ARacing Santander0 0
22 SeptemberLa Liga2HAthletic Bilbao3 1
35 SeptemberCopa CatalunyaSemi-finalNGirona3 2
411 SeptemberCopa CatalunyaFinalNGimnàstic1 2
516 SeptemberLa Liga3AOsasuna0 0
619 SeptemberUEFA Champions LeagueGroup StageHLyonFrance3 0
722 SeptemberLa Liga4HSevilla2 1
826 SeptemberLa Liga5HZaragoza4 1
929 SeptemberLa Liga6ALevante4 1
102 OctoberUEFA Champions LeagueGroup StageA GermanyVfB StuttgartGermany2 0
117 OctoberLa Liga7HAtlético Madrid3 0
1220 OctoberLa Liga8AVillarreal1 3
1323 OctoberUEFA Champions League Group stageA ScotlandRangersScotland0 0
1428 OctoberLa Liga9HAlmería2 0
151 NovemberLa Liga10AValladolid1 1
164 NovemberLa Liga11HBetis3 0
177 NovemberUEFA Champions LeagueGroup StageHRangersScotland2 0
1810 NovemberLa Liga12AGetafe0 2
1913 NovemberCopa del ReyRound of 32AAlcoyano3 0
2024 NovemberLa Liga13HRecreativo3 0
2127 NovemberUEFA Champions LeagueGroup StageA FranceLyonFrance2 2
221 DecemberLa Liga14AEspanyol1 1
239 DecemberLa Liga15HDeportivo La Coruña2 1
2412 DecemberUEFA Champions LeagueGroup StageHVfB StuttgartGermany3 1
2515 DecemberLa Liga16AValencia3 0
2623 DecemberLa Liga17HReal Madrid0 1
272 JanuaryCopa del ReyRound of 32HAlcoyano2 2
286 JanuaryLa Liga18AMallorca2 0
299 JanuaryCopa del ReyRound of 16ASevilla1 1
3013 JanuaryLa Liga19HMurcia4 0
3115 JanuaryCopa del ReyRound of 16HSevilla0 0
3220 JanuaryLa Liga20HRacing Santander1 0
3324 JanuaryCopa del ReyQuarter-finalsAVillarreal0 0
3427 JanuaryLa Liga21AAthletic Bilbao1 1
3531 JanuaryCopa del ReyQuarter-finalsHVillarreal1 0
363 FebruaryLa Liga22HOsasuna1 0
3710 FebruaryLa Liga23ASevilla1 1
3817 FebruaryLa Liga24AZaragoza2 1
3920 FebruaryUEFA Champions LeagueRound of 16A ScotlandCelticScotland3 2
4024 FebruaryLa Liga25HLevante5 1
4127 FebruaryCopa del ReySemi-finalsHValencia1 1
422 MarchLa Liga26AAtlético Madrid2 4
434 MarchUEFA Champions LeagueRound of 16HCelticScotland1 0
449 MarchLa Liga27HVillarreal1 2
4516 MarchLa Liga28AAlmería2 2
4620 MarchCopa del ReySemi-finalsAValencia2 3
4723 MarchLa Liga29HValladolid4 1
4830 MarchLa Liga30ABetis2 3
491 AprilUEFA Champions League Quarter-finalsA GermanySchalke 04Germany1 0
506 AprilLa Liga31HGetafe0 0
519 AprilUEFA Champions League Quarter-finalsHSchalke 04Germany1 0
5212 AprilLa Liga32ARecreativo2 2
5319 AprilLa Liga33HEspanyol0 0
5423 AprilUEFA Champions LeagueSemi-finalsHManchester UnitedEngland0 0
5526 AprilLa Liga34ADeportivo La Coruña0 2
5629 AprilUEFA Champions LeagueSemi-finalsA EnglandManchester UnitedEngland0 1
574 MayLa Liga35HValencia6 0
587 MayLa Liga36AReal Madrid1 4
5911 MayLa Liga37HMallorca2 3
6018 MayLa Liga38AMurcia5 3

Last updated: 7 May
Source: FCBarcelona.cat
1Barcelona goals come first.
National flags for Ground and Opponent columns are only shown when different to that of Barcelona.
M = Match; Ground: H = Home, A = Away, N = Neutral, HR = Home replacement, AR = Away replacement.

Friendly

Match
Date
Competition or tour
Ground
Opponent
Score1
GD
1 26 July Pre-season A Scotland Dundee UnitedScotland 1 - 0 1
2 28 July Pre-season N Scotland Heart of MidlothianScotland 3 - 1 2
3 5 August Asian Tour A China Beijing GuoanChina 3 - 0 3
4 7 August Asian Tour A Japan Yokohama MarinosJapan 1 - 0 1
5 11 August Asian Tour A Hong Kong Mission Hills Invitation XIHong Kong 4 - 0 4
6 15 August Franz-Beckenbauer-Cup A Germany Bayern MunichGermany 1 - 0 1
7 29 August Joan Gamper Trophy H InternazionaleItaly 5 - 0 5

Last updated: 14 March
Source: FCBarcelona.cat
1Barcelona goals come first.
Country's flag depict country of foreign team to that of Barcelona.
Ground: H = Home; A = Away; N = Neutral; HR = Home replacement; AR = Away replacement; GD = Goal difference

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.