Spain

LaLiga will use a video analysis program to help it determine if a player is likely to have infected a teammate or opponent if they test positive for the coronavirus once the season re-starts, according to a draft protocol drawn up by the league.

The protocol, seen by Reuters, was sent out to clubs in Spain's top two divisions on Monday and is an updated version of the document clubs received earlier this month.

After beginning individual training at club facilities earlier this month, Spain moved one step closer to the resumption of LaLiga and Segunda División play after teams began training in groups of up to 10 players on Monday.

According to LaLiga president Javier Tebas, the league is still hoping to return to action on June 12, but clubs will need the approval of the government’s department of health before advancing from small groups to full training.

Regardless, Tebas said that LaLiga has taken inspiration from Germany’s successful return to the pitch.

Joan Laporta has said he will seek to bring former manager Pep Guardiola back to Barcelona if his bid to return as president of the LaLiga club in 2021 is successful, Spanish media reported. 

Laporta was Barcelona president from 2003 to 2010 and was at the helm when Guardiola was promoted from the youth team to manager of the senior team in 2008. 

Professional soccer leagues around Europe are gearing up for a return to action following the novel coronavirus stoppage, but some are more advanced than others. Here is a roundup of the state of play.

When Will Soccer Return In Europe? 

GERMANY 

A shy village boy who could not bear to leave his parents' bed, Andrés Iniesta may have seemed an unlikely candidate to become one of the best footballers of all time, but anyone who saw him play rarely had serious doubts. 

Iniesta, who turns 36 today, weaved his magic for Barcelona for 16 years and was one of the architects of the club's greatest era, playing a defining role as they won 32 trophies including nine Spanish titles and four Champions League crowns. 

Five players in Spain's top two divisions have tested positive for COVID-19 since clubs began testing players and staff members last week, organizing body LaLiga said in a statement on Sunday. 

LaLiga said the players would remain at their homes where they would continue individual training before being tested again "in the next few days" to determine whether they can return to their club's training ground. 

BARCELONA — Barcelona's women's team was officially declared champion of Spain's Liga Iberdrola on Friday after the national soccer federation's executive committee agreed to end all non-professional competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta celebrated the 11th anniversary of his famous Champions League semi-final strike against Chelsea by calling two children conceived after his tie-clinching goal.

Barcelona were two minutes from being eliminated from the Champions League in a tense second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 6, 2009, when Iniesta collected a pass from Lionel Messi and stroked the ball into the top corner from outside the box.

Spain's women's soccer season is on the verge of being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with champions in each tier being declared based on the standings before the campaign was halted, the country's football federation (RFEF) has said.

Relegation will be scrapped this term as a result of the decision, which must be ratified by the RFEF executive committee on Friday, the governing body added in a statement on Wednesday.

One of my most unpopular opinions is that PSG’s 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of their 2016-17 Champions League Round of 16 tie was more impressive than La Remontada. In the face of what happened at the Camp Nou, everyone forgets just how devastating PSG was three weeks prior at the Parc des Princes.