Bara To Begin Work On Sunday

Barcelona's pre-season officially starts on Monday, at least on paper, as the club's situation has been the subject of intense speculation for several weeks following a vote of no confidence that led to the resignation of a total of eight members of Joan Laporta's board of directors.

Oblivious to the club's situation appears to be the new coach, Josep Guardiola, who will have this season his first big test after guiding the Barcelona B squad to Segunda División B last season.

The former Barcelona champion has been deeply involved in the squad construction and only enjoyed a few days of holidays. Txiki Begiristain recently commented on Guardiola's devotion, stressing he had never seen such an enthusiastic and commited coach before.

Guardiola has already had meetings with some of the squad's names, such as Puyol, Milito and Henry, and has used the official presentation of the new players to explain what he expects from them.

During the last months, Guardiola and his assistants have been watching dozens of video tapes to analyze and clarify the details each player need to work on.

However, Guardiola does not have everything planned as he is still waiting for more reinforcements. The future of Ronaldinho and Eto'o is still uncertain, and Barcelona are on the market for a new striker and a midfielder.

The Catalan club will also miss Lionel Messi, who will be representing Argentina at the Olympic Games, during part of the pre-season.


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