Afellay’s Holland knocked out (2-1)

Afellay’s Holland knocked out (2-1)

Holland were knocked out of the Euro 2012 tournament on Sunday, following a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in the last game of Group B

After starting him against Denmark and Germany, Van Marwijk left Ibrahim Afellay on the bench and didn’t bring him on until 67 minutes

Holland had already lost their first two games of the Tournament and this Sunday they were again beaten, as Portugal booked their place in the quarter final with a 2-1 win alongside Group winners Germany, who defeated Denmark 2-1. This is the first time in the last six European Championships that the current World Cup runners up had failed to make it into the knock out stages.

The only way that Holland could have gotten through on Sunday was by beating Portugal by two clear goals and hoping for a German win against Denmark. Joachim Löw’s team did their bit and Holland began as if they might well be in with a chance of pulling off an unlikely comeback when, with a line up dedicated to attack, Van der Vaart put them ahead on 11 minutes. Unfortunately for the Dutch, Ronaldo had other ideas and just before the half hour, he pulled Portugal level.

23 minutes for Afellay

Ibrahim Afellay started on the bench and was finally brought on for the struggling Williams on 67 minutes with the scores still level. His appearance soon began to have an effect, beefing up the attack, but a quick counter attack from Portugal saw Nani lay on a second for Cristiano Ronaldo and sink any hopes Holland might have had.

Afellay played 71 minutes in the first game against Denmark and was taken off against Germany in the second, but despite that and this Sunday’s 23 minutes, there was nothing he could do to help keep Holland, who had begun as one of the favourites, in the tournament.

Catalan continues to be spoken on Barça bench

Catalan continues to be spoken on Barça bench

Tito Vilanova is the 14th Catalan coach in the Club’s history, succeeding the last two local managers Carles Rexach and Pep Guardiola

With Tito’s assistant Jordi Roura also in place, this is the sixth time there has been a Catalan pairing on the bench

Following his official appointment as first team coach, Tito Vilanova became the 14th Catalan manager. The first was Romà Forns, from 1927 to 1929 and since then, big names such as Josep Samitier, Salvador Artigas, Joaquim Rifé, Carles Rexach and Pep Guardiola have occupied the manager’s seat at the Camp Nou. All the Catalans were previously players at the Club except for Enric Rabassa who trained the team in 1960.

Second coach from Girona

Tito Vilanova was born in Bellcaire d’Empordà and is the second coach to come from Girona in the Club’s 100 year history, following on from Domènec Balmanya who was in charge between 1956 and 1958. The other 12 coaches were all from the Barça province.

Vilanova-Roura, Catalan pairing

There has only been an all Catalan tandem in charge of the first team on six occasions: Guardiola and Vilanova were in charge for four seasons – longer than either other pairing , whilst Domènec Balmanya was the first to have a fellow countryman as his assistant – Enric Rabassa.

Rabassa then became assistant to Lluís Miró in 1961, Josep Gonzalvo and Josep Seguer were at the helm in 1963, Salvador Artigas and Josep Seguer took charge from 1967 to 69 and Joaquim Rifé and Antoni Torres followed in the 1979/80 season.

Now it’s the turn of Tito Vilanova and Jordi Roura. Tito’s assistant was born in Llagostera and has spent plenty of time coaching at the Club. Once again, the coaches at the Club will be talking Catalan.

10 games played at the Parc des Princes

10 games played at the Parc des Princes



The friendly against Paris Saint-Germain will be Barça's 11th match at the Parc des Princes

Of these 10 matches, only three were against PSG

Here’s an overview of the 10 matches between FC Barcelona at the Parc des Princes:

• May 26, 1952. Copa Latina. Semifinal. FC Barcelona beat Juventus Turin 4-2 thanks to goals from Machón, Basora (2) and Kubala. 

• May 29, 1952. Copa Latina. Final. Three days later, also at the Parc des Princes, a goal from César on 79 minutes gave FC Barcelona its second Copa Latina. 

• June 8, 1955. Friendly. FC Barcelona beat Racing Paris 3-5 in a match where Suárez, Villaverde (2), Mahjoub (O.G) and Mandi were the goal scorers. 

• October 3, 1956. Friendly. As 12,000 spectators looked on, FC Barcelona fell to Racing Paris 4-2. Martínez and Basora netted for the Catalan club. 

• November 29, 1962. Friendly. Goals from Fusté and Kocsis gave Barça the victory of Racing Paris - it was the third friendly in seven years between the two sides. Barça won 1-2. 

• May 10, 1967. Friendly. FC Barcelona and Nantes draw 2-2 in a friendly where Silva scored both of the Azulgrana goals.

• October 9, 1974. Friendly. Barça face off against a selection of players from Remis and PSG. Cruyff (2), Marcial (2) and Heredia lead Barça to convincing victory (1-5). 

• April 19, 1977. Friendly. The first real match against PSG. The game ends in a 1-1 draw (Cruyff was the Barça goal scorer on 79 minutes). 

• November 13, 1982. Friendly. Five years later, both the teams face off once again. This time FC Barcelona manages to secure a convincing victory: 1-4. Quini, Maradona, Alonso and Morán are Barça’s goal scorers. 

• March 15, 1995. Champions League. Return leg of the quarterfinals. It has been more than 17 years since FC Barcelona have been at the Parc des Princes. It was a bad night for the Azulgranas, who were eliminated after losing 2-1. The two teams came away with a 1-1 draw in the away leg at the Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona will play on August 4th against PSG in Paris

FC Barcelona will play their third game of pre-season against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc dels Prínceps on Saturday August 4th at 20.00hrs (CET)

Barça will be taking part in the first edition of Le Trophée de Paris organised by PSG.

This friendly game is taking place thanks to Qatar Sport Investment and Qatar Foundation and their commitment to football as they bring together two of Europe’s most important clubs. The match will be a very exciting preview of both teams’ coming season.

Before the game in Paris, Barça will play a friendly match against Hamburg on July 24th for the German club’s 125th anniversary, and against a Morrocan Select XI in Tangier on July 28th.