La Liga: Race for the Title - Villarreal vs Barcelona - Match Preview: FC Barcelona travel to Villarreal FC in the 35th match week of La Liga BBVA. The game could turn out to be a treat to watch but maybe today sport must take a back seat to life. FC Barcelona has lost one of its most important members. Tito Vilanova who was Barcelona coach for the season 2012/13 passed away after suffering for 2 years from throat cancer. This is a huge loss not only for Barcelona but the football world as a whole. Tito believed in the players coming out from the youth system and he had clear ideas about how the game should be played. Its indeed a great regret for those who knew him that he couldnt transmit all his knowledge and passion due to this cruelty of nature. As a youth he played for Barcelona B alongside Pep Guordiola who became his closest friend. Vilanova eventually didnt end up playing for Barça first team but he came back in 2002 to coach the Cadete B team containing Leo Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique a bunch of 13 year olds then. Vilanova would again come back in 2007 to assist Guordiola in managing the B team. The rest is history when Guordiola will eventually take the first team job in 2008/09 with Tito by his side. Vilanova went on to win 15 trophies as assistant manager and then coach of Barcelona first team. The players know him well and so did the people at the club. The presence of gloom is now almost inconsiderate. This death doesnt add to the dark situation the club finds itself in. This loss overtakes it- overtakes everything else. Tributes have been flowing in from all around the globe and people (fans from all the clubs) have been coming to the Camp Nou to pay their respect. Villarreal CF themselves released a statement to pay their respects “Villarreal CF wants to express its deep grief and sorrow over the loss of former player and coach of FC Barcelona, Francesc ‘Tito’ Vilanova, who died today at the Catalan capital at 45 years of age. The club wants to show solidarity and send their deepest condolences to the family, relatives and everyone involved with FC Barcelona over the sad loss. El Madrigal will honour a minute of silence on Sunday before the match against FC Barcelona (21.00) and Villarreal CF players will wear black armbands in mourning”. Villarreal themselves lie in 7th position. Last year they came back from relegation to La Liga and they would like to maintain their Europa Cup spot. Villarreal can certainly cause trouble to this Barcelona side and couple of players has insinuated that they would go for the kill. Dos Santos former Barcelona player is available for Villarreal after coming back from leg injury. On loan Barça B player Joan Román might get an outing against his parent club. Barcelona would go into this game not thinking about three points. The players came to think of Vilanova as a family members and it must be hard for them to be thinking in terms of result. Barcelona have always put emphasis on human values and the recent proceedings after Tito’s passing just goes to show that. Real Madrid sent their respects. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo and Spain Coach Del Bosque were personally present at Camp Nou to pay his tributes. The team and coaches and Directors all paid their respects at the Camp Nou. It is the lure of a truly great club that they put the human values first. The Club has done well to respect the memory of Tito Vilanova. President Josep Bartomeu wrote an open letter to the fans. Barcelona have a lot of injuries and fitness issues. Puyol, Neymar and Alba are out just to name a few. Coach Martino has named an 18 man squad that travelled to Villarreal: Pinto, Olazábal, Montoya, Fàbregas, Xavi, Pedro, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Mascherano, Bartra, Busquets, Song, Afellay, Tello, Adriano, Dani Alves and Sergi Roberto. Barcelona still have a realistic chance of winning La Liga but nobody should blame them if they fail today. Maybe, they will fight and they will fight for Tito. Tito was a great strategist and we all will miss him. We will miss his humility and strength of resilience. Today it wont be about football. Today it wont be about whether Barcelona can win at El Madrigal. Today Football is a lot poorer due to the passing of one of its most talented sons. Common sense, Strength and Bravery. RIP Tito Vilanova Date: Sunday 27th April 2014 Venue: El Madrigal Capacity: 25,000 Probable Line-Ups: Villarreal FC XI (4-4-2): Asenjo; Mario, Musacchio, Pantic, Jaume Costa; Óliver, Pina, Bruno Giovani; Aquino, Perbet. FC Barcelona XI (4-3-3): Pinto; Alves, Mascherano, Bartra, Adriano; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Pedro. photo source: claudiaarumende (via twitter) FArticles: FootballLa LigaGeneral News Categories: La LigaEl MadrigalBarca#RIPTito#EternoTito #sempretitocr#ForeverInOurHeartsTitoVillarrealDos SantosMessimartino
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:39:16 +0000
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