2007–08 FC Barcelona season

Barcelona
2007–08 season
President	Joan Laporta
Head Coach	Frank Rijkaard
Stadium	Camp Nou
La Liga	3rd
Copa del Rey	Semi-finals
UEFA Champions League	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: ; Samuel Eto'o (16); All: ; Thierry Henry (19)
	← 2006–07 2008–09 →

Though it did not produce silverware, FC Barcelona's 2007–08 season would mark a period of change within the club, having many firsts and lasts. Most importantly, this would be Ronaldinho's last season with the club, being displaced by the coming of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. This season also marked the breakthrough of young talent Bojan Krkić into the first team, as well as the emergence of Lionel Messi as one of the team's key players. On the other hand, this would be Lilian Thuram's last season as a professional footballer, as well as Gianluca Zambrotta's last with the club.

Events

Thierry Henry, a €24 million move from Arsenal.

25 June: Thierry Henry moves from Arsenal to Barcelona for €24 million.^[1]
29 August: Nike will supply Barcelona until the 2017–18 season.^[2]
22 September: The Camp Nou turns 50 years old with a celebration full of music, light, and colour.^[3]
22 September: A large reform for the Camp Nou was revealed, with plans to make the Camp Nou bigger, with a retractable roof and better facilities.^[4]^[5]^[6]
20 October: Bojan becomes the youngest ever player to score for the club in La Liga.^[7]
26 October: Barça opens a community centre for children in Senegal.^[8]
20 March: Barcelona are knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the semi-final stage by Valencia.^[9]
8 May: The club announces that head coach Frank Rijkaard will leave the club when his contracts expires at the end of June, and that Pep Guardiola will replace him.^[10]

Players

Squad information

Carles Puyol, the captain of FC Barcelona in the 2007–08 season.

The squad has reasonably changed in the summer transfer window. The biggest addition was Thierry Henry, with a transfer fee of €24 million. That equals the transfer fee paid for Samuel Eto'o in 2004, but just below the €30 million paid for Ronaldinho in 2003. Other additions were Eric Abidal, Yaya Touré, and Gabriel Milito . On the other end, some important players that were often used last season have left the club, such as, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ludovic Giuly. Barcelona still used a great number of players developed in its youth system, 9 of 23, and have two new additions this season: Giovani dos Santos and Bojan (17 years old, the youngest player on the squad).

Most of the players have contracts beyond this end of season, but Deco, an important player, has his contract ending in 2008. The captain is still Carles Puyol, who is from Barcelona's youth system, plays in the first squad since 1999 and currently is the player with the most appearances (268). Currently, the highest scorer is Ronaldinho, with 80 goals. Also Ronaldinho, from August of this year, has a European passport. On mid-October, Samuel Eto'o received Spanish nationality, making him an EU player.^[11] The only non-EU player is Yaya Touré. Because Spain ratified the Cotonou Agreement in 2007, however, Touré is now considered an EU player, as his native country of Ivory Coast is a signatory to that agreement, and the 2003 Kolpak ruling extended the Bosman ruling to nations with an associate trading relationship with the EU.

As of 21 October

N	Pos.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK	Víctor Valdés (VC3)	26	EU	2002	210	0	2010	Youth system
3	CB	Gabriel Milito	27	EU	2007	39	1	2011	€17M
4	CB	Rafael Márquez	29	EU	2003	166	8	2010	€5M
5	CB	Carles Puyol (captain)	30	EU	1999	303	6	2010	Youth system
6	CM	Xavi (VC2)	28	EU	1998	288	28	2010	Youth system
7	CF	Eiður Guðjohnsen	29	EU	2006	72	13	2009	€12M
8	CM	Andrés Iniesta	24	EU	2002	211	17	2010	Youth system
9	CF	Samuel Eto'o	27	EU	2004	137	89	2010	€24M
10	LW	Ronaldinho (VC1)	28	EU	2003	196	89	2010	€30M	EU passport
11	RB	Gianluca Zambrotta	31	EU	2006	74	3	2010	€14M
13	GK	José Manuel Pinto	32	EU	2008	0	0	2008	loan
14	LW	Thierry Henry	30	EU	2007	40	14	2011	€24M
15	DM	Edmílson	31	EU	2004	89	0	2008	€10M
16	LB	Sylvinho	34	EU	2004	92	3	2008	€2M
17	FW	Giovani dos Santos	19	EU	2007	33	1	2009	Youth system	EU passport
18	CF	Santiago Ezquerro	31	EU	2005	38	7	2008	Free
19	RW	Lionel Messi	20	EU	2004	97	40	2014	Youth system
20	LM	Deco	30	EU	2004	151	19	2008	€15M	€15M + Quaresma
21	CB	Lilian Thuram	36	EU	2006	50	0	2008	€5M
22	LB	Eric Abidal	28	EU	2007	40	0	2011	€15M
23	CB	Oleguer	28	EU	2002	165	1	2010	Youth system
24	DM	Touré Yaya	25	Non-EU	2007	32	2	2011	€9M	Under Kolpak ruling
25	GK	Albert Jorquera	29	EU	2001	17	0	2008	Youth system
27	FW	Bojan	17	EU	2007	40	10	2009	Youth system

Last updated: 12 April
Source: FCBarcelona.cat, Players transfer, Wikipedia players' articles, ESPN (for appearances and goals) and footballdatabase.com (for EU passport)
Allowed up to 3 players without EU passport.^[12]
Ordered by start team and position on pitch (from back right to front left).

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
14	FW	Henry	29	EU	Arsenal	Transfer Y	Summer	2011	€24M	FCBarcelona.cat
24	MF	Touré Yaya	24	Non-EU	Monaco	Transfer Y	Summer	2011	€9M	FCBarcelona.cat FCBarcelona.cat
22	DF	Abidal	27	EU	Lyon	Transfer Y	Summer	2011	€15M	FCBarcelona.cat
12	DF	Milito	26	EU	Zaragoza	Transfer Y	Summer	2011	€17M + €3.5M in variables	FCBarcelona.cat
17	FW	Giovani	18	EU	Barcelona B	Promote	Summer	2009	Youth system	FCBarcelona.cat
27	FW	Bojan	16	EU	Barcelona B	Promote	Summer	2009	Youth system	FCBarcelona.cat
13	GK	Pinto	31	EU	Celta de Vigo	Loan →	Winter	2008	€0.5M	FCBarcelona.cat FCBarcelona.cat

Total spending: €65.5 million

Out

N	Pos.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
12	DF	Bronckhorst	32	EU	Feyenoord	Contract Termination N	Summer	Free
22	FW	Saviola	25	EU	Real Madrid	Contract Termination N	Summer	Free	RealMadrid.com
8	FW	Giuly	30	EU	Roma	Transfer Y	Summer	€3.2M	FCBarcelona.cat
28	GK	Rubén	23	EU	Racing Ferrol	Loan →	Summer	N/A	lavozdegalicia.es
	FW	Maxi López	23	EU	FC Moscow	Transfer Y	Summer	€2M	Marca.com
2	RB	Belletti	31	EU	Chelsea	Transfer Y	Summer	€5.5M	chelseafc.com
3	MF	Thiago Motta	24	EU	Atlético Madrid	Transfer Y	Summer	€1M + 2M in variables	FCBarcelona.cat

Last updated: 1 February
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.

Total income: €11.7 million.

Expenditure: €53.8 million.

Squad stats

Víctor Valdés has the most starts in this season.

Víctor Valdés and Eric Abidal have been the only two players that have started all the matches (excepting Copa Catalunya, when Barcelona didn't use the same players as for the other competitions). Previously, Gianluca Zambrotta and Yaya Touré started all the matches until they got injured. Oleguer replaced Zambrotta and Andrés Iniesta replaced Touré. Giovani dos Santos and Bojan were the substitute forwards, while Santiago Ezquerro played only in the Copa Catalunya, as well as Eiður Guðjohnsen playing once. Thierry Henry started the majority of the matches when Samuel Eto'o got injured. He scored his first hat trick wearing Barça's jersey, and he's the second goal scorer with four goals. Ronaldinho missed three matches due to an injury.^[13]

As of 5 February

				Total			La Liga		UEFA Champions League		Copa del Rey		Copa Catalunya
No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Sts	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls
1	GK		V. Valdés	52	52		35		11		6
11	RB/LB		Zambrotta	37	41		29		7		5
3	CB		Milito	41	42	1	27	1	9		6
5	CB/RB		Puyol	45	47	1	30		10	1	7
22	LB/CB		Abidal	43	46		30		10		6
24	DM		Touré Yaya ^[a]	37	38	2	26	1	9	1	3
6	RM/DM/LM		Xavi	50	54	9	35	7	12	1	7	1
8	MF/LW/DM/RM		A. Iniesta	43	49	4	31	3	11	1	7
19	RW		Messi	34	40	16	28	10	9	6	3
9	CF		Eto'o ^[a]	27	28	18	18	16	7	1	3	1
14	LW/CF		Henry	40	47	19	30	12	10	3	7	4
10	LW/CF		Ronaldinho	20	26	9	17	8	8	1	1
7	FW/LM/RM		Guðjohnsen	19	37	3	23	2	8		6	1
4	CB/DM		Márquez	26	37	2	23	2	8		5		1
13	GK		Pinto	3	3		3
15	DM		Edmílson	7	15		11		1		3
16	LB		Sylvinho	17	24	1	14		4		4		2	1
17	FW		Giovani	16	38	4	28	3	5	1	5
18	FW		Ezquerro	4	6	3	3				1	2	2	1
20	LM		Deco	24	29	1	18	1	6		5
21	CB		Thuram	25	28		18		6		4
23	CB/RB		Oleguer	11	17		12		2		1		2
25	GK		Jorquera	4	4				1		1		2
26	MF		Crosas	2	5				1		2		2
27	FW		Bojan	20	48	12	31	10	9	1	8	1
28	GK		Oier	1	1						1
30	DM		Víctor Sánchez	1	2		1				1
31	CB		Valiente		1						1
33	RW		Pedro		3		2						1
36	MF		Víctor Vázquez	1	3	1	1						2	1
37	DF		Fali		2		1						1
38	MF		Rueda		1		1

Last updated: 17 May
Source: FCBarcelona.cat
Ordered by start team and position on pitch (from back right to front left)
0 shown as blank

^ ^a ^b Played in 2008 African Cup of Nations

Disciplinary record

Deco, the most booked player.

N	Pos.	Name				Notes
11	RB	Zambrotta	7	0	1
4	CB	Márquez	9	1	0
3	CB	Milito	9	1	0
20	LM	Deco	12	0	0	24 appearances, booked every other match.
5	CB	Puyol	11	0	0
24	CM	Touré Yaya	8	0	0
17	FW	Giovani	6	0	0
8	MF	A. Iniesta	5	0	0
19	RW	Messi	5	0	0
22	LB	Abidal	4	0	0
9	FW	Eto'o	3	0	0
7	CF	Guðjohnsen	3	0	0
14	CF	Henry	3	0	0
6	RM	Xavi	3	1	0
27	FW	Bojan	2	0	0
21	CB	Thuram	2	0	0
23	CB	Oleguer	1	0	0
16	LB	Sylvinho	1	0	0
1	GK	V. Valdés	1	0	0

Last updated: 12 April
Source: FCBarcelona.cat
Only competitive matches
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Club

Coaching staff

Frank Rijkaard, managing Barcelona since 2003.

This season will be the fifth consecutive season for Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona's manager. Even though Barça did not win any major competition last season,^[14] club president Joan Laporta confirmed Rijkaard's presence for this season.^[15] All staff from last season, except doctor Gil Rodas, are remaining.^[16]

As of 13 October

Position	Staff
Head coach	Frank Rijkaard
Assistant coach	Johan Neeskens / Eusebio Sacristán
Goalkeeping coach	Juan Carlos Unzué
Fitness coach	Paco Seirul·lo / Albert Roca
Doctors	Ricard Pruna / Toni Tramullas
Representative	Carles Naval

Last updated: 19 September
Source: FCBarcelona.cat

Kit

Supplier: Nike
Features: UNICEF (a noncommercial agreement, see FCBarcelona.cat)

Home

Away

Third

Source: FCBarcelona.cat
Notes: Socks have stripes not shown here.

Other information

President	Joan Laporta
Vice-president and sports affairs	Marc Ingla
Technical secretary	Txiki Beguiristáin
Vice-president and institutional relations	Albert Vicens
Vice-president and economical affairs	Ferran Soriano
Vice-president and marketing-media	Jaume Ferrer
Security affairs	Alfonso Castro
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Camp Nou (98.772 / 105x68m)
Budget	€315m

Updated to match played 11 January
Source: FC Barcelona Board Members and Budget

Competitions

La Liga

Classification

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Real Madrid (C)	38	27	4	7	84	36	+48	85	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Villarreal	38	24	5	9	63	40	+23	77	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
3	Barcelona	38	19	10	9	76	43	+33	67	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
4	Atlético Madrid	38	19	7	12	66	47	+19	64^[a]
5	Sevilla	38	20	4	14	75	49	+26	64^[a]	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round

Source: LFP
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th goal difference; 6th number of goals scored; 7th Fair-play points
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ATM 4–3 SEV; SEV 1–2 ATM

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	L	L	D	W	L	D	D	D	L	W	L	L	W
Position	12	3	5	4	4	4	2	4	2	2	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3

Source: Competitive Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

UEFA Champions League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	BAR	LYO	RAN	STU
1	Barcelona	6	4	2	0	12	3	+9	14	Advance to knockout stage	—	3–0	2–0	3–1
2	Lyon	6	3	1	2	11	10	+1	10	Advance to knockout stage	2–2	—	0–3	4–2
3	Rangers	6	2	1	3	7	9	−2	7	Transfer to UEFA Cup	0–0	0–3	—	2–1
4	VfB Stuttgart	6	1	0	5	7	15	−8	3		0–2	0–2	3–2	—

Source: RSSSF

Matches

Competitive

Game

Date

Tournament

Round

Ground

Opponent

Score¹

Report

1

26 August

Match	Date	Competition or tour	Ground	Opponent	Score¹	GD
1	26 July	Pre-season	A	Dundee United	1 - 0	1
2	28 July	Pre-season	N	Heart of Midlothian	3 - 1	2
3	5 August	Asian Tour	A	Beijing Sinobo Guoan	3 - 0	3
4	7 August	Asian Tour	A	Yokohama Marinos	1 - 0	1
5	11 August	Asian Tour	A	Mission Hills Invitation XI	4 - 0	4
6	15 August	Franz-Beckenbauer-Cup	A	Bayern Munich	1 - 0	1
7	29 August	Joan Gamper Trophy	H	Internazionale	5 - 0	5