Valdes content despite Barcas stuttering form

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said he is happy with his side's start to the campaign despite the fact the Catalans haven't shone in any of their past three games.

Valdes was the hero as Barca lifted a record 11th Spanish Super Cup on away goals following a 0-0 draw (1-1 on aggregate) with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night as he made a string of fine saves.

And with three clean sheets from the first four games of the season, the 31-year-old is pleased with how his final campaign at the Camp Nou has begun.

"I am very happy both on a personal level with my performances and how the team has started the season," he told Barca TV.

"My role at Barca means I don't have to intervene a lot. I have to do so with my feet more often than with my hands and now and again it is good to show that I can also do so with my hands."

However, after a 7-0 thrashing of Levante on the opening day, new Barca boss Gerardo Martino hasn't had the most convincing of starts as, in between the two draws with Atleti, the Spanish champions were also lucky to come away with a 1-0 win from their trip to Malaga last weekend.

Valdes, though, is hoping that having clinched the first silverware of the season they can kick on when they face another stiff test away to Valencia on Sunday.

"There are always aspects you can improve. Something which you do well today, the next day you might do badly. It will be a very tough season because Barca is always the team to beat so we need to go game by game.

"It is very important to start the season with this title. The players give it the value it deserves.

"We knew Atletico are a very good team playing on the counter-attack and taking advantage of the second ball. That is a style of play that is very uncomfortable for us."

And a former Barca player Oriol Romeu is hoping his Valencia side can follow Atletico's lead.

Romeu has joined Los Che on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea and believes his new teammates are capable of at least repeating their 1-1 draw with Barca at the Mestalla last season.

"Barca are uncomfortable when they don't have the ball and, with the pressure that Atletico put on them, they managed to take the ball away from them for long spells," he told the club's website.

"If we can do the same and be well-positioned at the back then we have the team to be able to beat them."

Valencia boss Miroslav Djukic could hand a debut to Colombian striker Dorlan Pabon after his move from Monterrey was completed on Wednesday and the Serbian is expected to make a few changes after publicly criticising his side's performance in the 3-1 defeat to Espanyol last weekend.

Earlier on Sunday, Real Madrid could move above Barca to the top of the table as they host Athletic Bilbao in the first midday kick-off of the season.

Madrid have won both their opening games by the odd goal and new boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted after Monday's 1-0 win over Granada that his side were still coming to terms with the change in philosophy he is looking to implement.

The Italian is likely to be forced into naming another very offenisve line-up though as injuries to Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso and Asier Illarramendi mean all of Luka Modric, Isco, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria should start.

And on a footballing feast on Sunday, the meat in the Real and Barca sandwich is arguably the best match of the weekend as Spain's other two Champions League representatives, Real Sociedad and Atletico, square off at Anoeta.

Fixtures

Friday

Almeria v Elche, Rayo Vallecano v Levante (both 2100 GMT)

Saturday

Celta Vigo v Granada (1700 GMT), Valladolid v Getafe (1900 GMT), Osasuna v Villarreal (2100 GMT)

Sunday

Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (1000 GMT), Espanyol v Real Betis (1500 GMT), Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid (1700 GMT), Sevilla v Malaga, Valencia v Barcelona (1900 GMT)

Valdes to see out Barcelona contract

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes confirmed on Friday that he will leave the club once his current contract expires in the summer of 2014, explaining that the mental exhaustion caused by the "responsibility and pressure" of his position was behind his reason to eventually move on.

"Being the goalkeeper at the club is a big weight to carry and I have felt it since I was very young," Valdes said in a press conference at the Camp Nou on Friday morning.

"It is a position that carries with it a lot of responsibility, there is a lot of pressure on you, and the demands I put on myself to make sure Barca win is a heavy weight to carry too."

The 31-year-old Valdes, who has been in the Barcelona first team for 12 years and who made his 500th appearance for the Azulgrana earlier this month, insisted that his decision to move on is "irrevocable" and that his mind was already made up when he rejected the offer of a new deal in January.

"I consider that my cycle as a Barcelona player will come to an end when my current contract expires in 2014," said Valdes, who nevertheless gave no details regarding possible interest in him from elsewhere.

"I understand that with 18 months' warning there should be sufficient time to find the best solution for the club and for the player, so that Barca keep on winning and so do I," he explained.

"In January, I said I could see myself playing in other leagues, getting to know something different and looking for different sources of motivation."

The Spanish international, in Spain's squad for the Confederations Cup, had been linked with a move to big-spending Monaco this summer.

Liverpool's Pepe Reina - formerly of Barcelona - has been linked with a return to the Camp Nou to replace Valdes, while Manchester United's David de Gea and Valencia'a Vicente Guaita are also said to be on their list of possible targets.

Vilanova hopeful of Valdes stay

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova has said he hopes to hold onto goalkeeper Victor Valdes for at least the final year of his contract.

The Spanish international confirmed on Friday that he plans to leave the Spanish champions when his current deal expires in 2014.

And the 31-year-old was an unused substitute as Barca sealed their title triumph by matching Real Madrid's league record 100 points tally with a 4-1 win over Malaga.

"Victor didn't ask me to play the game. We spoke and we decided that (Jose Manuel) Pinto would play," Vilanova told a press conference afterwards.

"I said once the league was won the minutes would be shared around.

"Valdes is the only one who has said he is not going to renew his contract. If he stays I would be delighted and if he doesn't we will look for a goalkeeper. I think Victor has explained everything perfectly."

Valdes himself raised suspicions on Saturday that he could stay in the Catalan capital to see out the final year of his deal.

"We will see each other next year to together continue making Barca even greater," he wrote on his facebook page.

Vilanova meanwhile was delighted to have reached the century points mark and believes they have coped well with the emotional turmoil of both his own absence as he travelled to New York to receive cancer treatment and that of Eric Abidal, who returned to first-team action in April after successfully recovering from a liver transplant.

"It was important to reach the best points tally in the history of the club and equal the mark of Madrid last year.

"In general, with all the things that have happened during the season, it has been good. We have finished the season on a very good level overall."

Abidal made his final Barca appearance as he came on for the final 15 minutes against Malaga after announcing on Thursday he would be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

And Vilanova it was an emotional evening for everyone involved as his entrance was greeted by a huge ovation at the Camp Nou.

"It is something very emotional for us. It is hard to live through these moments without becoming emotional."

Vilanova hopeful of Valdes stay

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova has said he hopes to hold onto goalkeeper Victor Valdes for at least the final year of his contract.

The Spanish international confirmed on Friday that he plans to leave the Spanish champions when his current deal expires in 2014.

And the 31-year-old was an unused substitute as Barca sealed their title triumph by matching Real Madrid's league record 100 points tally with a 4-1 win over Malaga.

"Victor didn't ask me to play the game. We spoke and we decided that (Jose Manuel) Pinto would play," Vilanova told a press conference afterwards.

"I said once the league was won the minutes would be shared around.

"Valdes is the only one who has said he is not going to renew his contract. If he stays I would be delighted and if he doesn't we will look for a goalkeeper. I think Victor has explained everything perfectly."

Valdes himself raised suspicions on Saturday that he could stay in the Catalan capital to see out the final year of his deal.

"We will see each other next year to together continue making Barca even greater," he wrote on his facebook page.

Vilanova meanwhile was delighted to have reached the century points mark and believes they have coped well with the emotional turmoil of both his own absence as he travelled to New York to receive cancer treatment and that of Eric Abidal, who returned to first-team action in April after successfully recovering from a liver transplant.

"It was important to reach the best points tally in the history of the club and equal the mark of Madrid last year.

"In general, with all the things that have happened during the season, it has been good. We have finished the season on a very good level overall."

Abidal made his final Barca appearance as he came on for the final 15 minutes against Malaga after announcing on Thursday he would be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

And Vilanova it was an emotional evening for everyone involved as his entrance was greeted by a huge ovation at the Camp Nou.

"It is something very emotional for us. It is hard to live through these moments without becoming emotional."

Valdes to see out Barcelona contract

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes confirmed on Friday that he will leave the club once his current contract expires in the summer of 2014, explaining that the mental exhaustion caused by the "responsibility and pressure" of his position was behind his reason to eventually move on.

"Being the goalkeeper at the club is a big weight to carry and I have felt it since I was very young," Valdes said in a press conference at the Camp Nou on Friday morning.

"It is a position that carries with it a lot of responsibility, there is a lot of pressure on you, and the demands I put on myself to make sure Barca win is a heavy weight to carry too."

The 31-year-old Valdes, who has been in the Barcelona first team for 12 years and who made his 500th appearance for the Azulgrana earlier this month, insisted that his decision to move on is "irrevocable" and that his mind was already made up when he rejected the offer of a new deal in January.

"I consider that my cycle as a Barcelona player will come to an end when my current contract expires in 2014," said Valdes, who nevertheless gave no details regarding possible interest in him from elsewhere.

"I understand that with 18 months' warning there should be sufficient time to find the best solution for the club and for the player, so that Barca keep on winning and so do I," he explained.

"In January, I said I could see myself playing in other leagues, getting to know something different and looking for different sources of motivation."

The Spanish international, in Spain's squad for the Confederations Cup, had been linked with a move to big-spending Monaco this summer.

Liverpool's Pepe Reina - formerly of Barcelona - has been linked with a return to the Camp Nou to replace Valdes, while Manchester United's David de Gea and Valencia'a Vicente Guaita are also said to be on their list of possible targets.

Vilanova hopeful of Valdes stay

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova has said he hopes to hold onto goalkeeper Victor Valdes for at least the final year of his contract.

The Spanish international confirmed on Friday that he plans to leave the Spanish champions when his current deal expires in 2014.

And the 31-year-old was an unused substitute as Barca sealed their title triumph by matching Real Madrid's league record 100 points tally with a 4-1 win over Malaga.

"Victor didn't ask me to play the game. We spoke and we decided that (Jose Manuel) Pinto would play," Vilanova told a press conference afterwards.

"I said once the league was won the minutes would be shared around.

"Valdes is the only one who has said he is not going to renew his contract. If he stays I would be delighted and if he doesn't we will look for a goalkeeper. I think Victor has explained everything perfectly."

Valdes himself raised suspicions on Saturday that he could stay in the Catalan capital to see out the final year of his deal.

"We will see each other next year to together continue making Barca even greater," he wrote on his facebook page.

Vilanova meanwhile was delighted to have reached the century points mark and believes they have coped well with the emotional turmoil of both his own absence as he travelled to New York to receive cancer treatment and that of Eric Abidal, who returned to first-team action in April after successfully recovering from a liver transplant.

"It was important to reach the best points tally in the history of the club and equal the mark of Madrid last year.

"In general, with all the things that have happened during the season, it has been good. We have finished the season on a very good level overall."

Abidal made his final Barca appearance as he came on for the final 15 minutes against Malaga after announcing on Thursday he would be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

And Vilanova it was an emotional evening for everyone involved as his entrance was greeted by a huge ovation at the Camp Nou.

"It is something very emotional for us. It is hard to live through these moments without becoming emotional."

Valdes to see out Barcelona contract

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes confirmed on Friday that he will leave the club once his current contract expires in the summer of 2014, explaining that the mental exhaustion caused by the "responsibility and pressure" of his position was behind his reason to eventually move on.

"Being the goalkeeper at the club is a big weight to carry and I have felt it since I was very young," Valdes said in a press conference at the Camp Nou on Friday morning.

"It is a position that carries with it a lot of responsibility, there is a lot of pressure on you, and the demands I put on myself to make sure Barca win is a heavy weight to carry too."

The 31-year-old Valdes, who has been in the Barcelona first team for 12 years and who made his 500th appearance for the Azulgrana earlier this month, insisted that his decision to move on is "irrevocable" and that his mind was already made up when he rejected the offer of a new deal in January.

"I consider that my cycle as a Barcelona player will come to an end when my current contract expires in 2014," said Valdes, who nevertheless gave no details regarding possible interest in him from elsewhere.

"I understand that with 18 months' warning there should be sufficient time to find the best solution for the club and for the player, so that Barca keep on winning and so do I," he explained.

"In January, I said I could see myself playing in other leagues, getting to know something different and looking for different sources of motivation."

The Spanish international, in Spain's squad for the Confederations Cup, had been linked with a move to big-spending Monaco this summer.

Liverpool's Pepe Reina - formerly of Barcelona - has been linked with a return to the Camp Nou to replace Valdes, while Manchester United's David de Gea and Valencia'a Vicente Guaita are also said to be on their list of possible targets.

Valdes to see out Barcelona contract

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes confirmed on Friday that he will leave the club once his current contract expires in the summer of 2014, explaining that the mental exhaustion caused by the "responsibility and pressure" of his position was behind his reason to eventually move on.

"Being the goalkeeper at the club is a big weight to carry and I have felt it since I was very young," Valdes said in a press conference at the Camp Nou on Friday morning.

"It is a position that carries with it a lot of responsibility, there is a lot of pressure on you, and the demands I put on myself to make sure Barca win is a heavy weight to carry too."

The 31-year-old Valdes, who has been in the Barcelona first team for 12 years and who made his 500th appearance for the Azulgrana earlier this month, insisted that his decision to move on is "irrevocable" and that his mind was already made up when he rejected the offer of a new deal in January.

"I consider that my cycle as a Barcelona player will come to an end when my current contract expires in 2014," said Valdes, who nevertheless gave no details regarding possible interest in him from elsewhere.

"I understand that with 18 months' warning there should be sufficient time to find the best solution for the club and for the player, so that Barca keep on winning and so do I," he explained.

"In January, I said I could see myself playing in other leagues, getting to know something different and looking for different sources of motivation."

The Spanish international, in Spain's squad for the Confederations Cup, had been linked with a move to big-spending Monaco this summer.

Liverpool's Pepe Reina - formerly of Barcelona - has been linked with a return to the Camp Nou to replace Valdes, while Manchester United's David de Gea and Valencia'a Vicente Guaita are also said to be on their list of possible targets.