Barcelona

Barcelona To Go On Strike For One Day Following Violence Surrounding Catalan Independence Referendum

Barcelona have announced the club will join a Catalonia-wide one-day strike that will take place Tuesday, Oct. 3. 

A release on Barcelona's website said the strike was called by a group called "Taula per la Democracia" (Table for Democracy), which is made up of variuos Catalan trade unions.

Eerie Photos From Barcelona’s Match Played Behind Closed Doors

Two goals from Lionel Messi and one from Sergio Busquets saw Barcelona defeat Las Palmas 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their perfect record in league play after seven matches.

Gerard Pique To Play For Spain Despite Stance On Catalan Independence

Gerard Pique has never been one to shy away from his political views. An outspoken supporter of Catalan independence, Pique has drawn a lot of ire from fans of the Spanish National Team, especially with Catalonia trying to vote on a referendum to decide whether to declare independence from Spain.

Pique's stance on the referendum will have no effect on Pique's role with Spain, said Spanish National Team manager Julen Lopetegui. 

Why Man-Marking Lionel Messi Is Always A Terrible Idea

Conditions conspired to give us a glimpse of a rarely used, outdated tactic on Saturday: an authentic and faithful use of man-marking during Girona’s hosting of Barcelona at the Estadi Montilivi. What this means is that Girona defender Pablo Maffeo was entirely sacrificed to negate the influence of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi — wherever Messi went, there was Maffeo. When Girona were in possession, Maffeo continued to mark Messi. In fact, Maffeo was substituted in the 78th minute after recording only 10 touches. 

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