‘Mes Que Un Club’ the sign reads on one of the imposing stands, meaning ‘more than a club’. This is an apt description of what Barca is to the local population and FC Barcelona tickets allow you a glimpse of genuine Catalan life and culture.

Barcelona FC are owned and run by their supporters, who vote on presidential elections and have a big say in the direction of the club. Established in 1899, Barcelona have had a long and successful history. They have lifted the most domestic trophies of any Spanish club, with an impressive 21 La Liga and 25 Copa del Rey. They are one of the few clubs who have been ever present in European competition since 1955.

Barcelona FC’s recent successes have been some of their most remarkable. Josep Guardiola has quickly attained legendary status at the Nou Camp. His modern side play an attacking brand of passing football that has seen them dominate both domestic and European competition. In 2009 Barcelona won an unprecedented six trophies. People talk of trebles as being incredible, but to win a sextuple of silverware is a phenomenal achievement.

Paulino Alcantra is Barcelona’s all time highest goal scorer with 357 goals, but he may soon be caught by Messi, whose tally is constantly rising towards the 200 mark with a near whole career ahead of him. FC Barcelona tickets would entitle you to see this living legend in his prime.

FC Barcelona tickets are not only a chance to see the best club side in the world; they represent a glimpse at social history and real Catalan life.

Iniesta scored the winning goal in the Spain’s World Cup final victory back in July over the Netherlands in Johannesburg and along with his midfield partner, Xavi, and the Argentina forward, Messi, was able to help Barcelona in getting the Spanish league title.

23-year-old Messi had a disappointing World Cup based on his own high standards, after failing to score in the tournament as Argentina crashed out after facing a 4-0 defeat by Germany during the quarter-finals.

Iniesta wrote on his Facebook page, “It’s an honor to be one of the three finalists for the Ballon d’Or, and even more so to be there with Xavi and Leo.” He further added, “It’s a marvelous prize for the cantera”, referring to the “La Masia” youth academy of the club where all three trained.

Vicente del Bosque, a former Real Madrid manager who was the mastermind of the first World Cup success of Spain, made the shortlist for getting the Coach of the Year award.

He was joined by Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho and Barca’s Pep Guardiola. Mourinho won the Champions League and the Italian league and cup with Inter Milan during last season.

Jerome Valcke, FIFA general secretary, said in a media conference that Spanish soccer has been able to move “ahead of the rest” since 2008 and has been dominating at club level.

Valcke said, “They are crushing world football at the moment. Barcelona’s match against Madrid last week was a brilliant display of football.”

Russia was able to beat their competition from England, as well as joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium. Qatar, on the other hand, was able to beat Australia, South Korea, Japan and the USA.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA president announced the result in Zurich, Switzerland after the panel of 22 members voted. Blatter said, “We go to new lands. Never has the World Cup been in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Arabic world have been waiting for a long time so I’m a happy president when we talk about the development of football.”

After the announcement, Igor Shuvalov, Russia deputy prime minister, gave celebratory remarks, “You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it. Let us make history together.”

Although he did not attend Thursday’s vote, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flied to Zurich to personally thank FIFA for awarding his country with the right to host the 2018 tournament. Before he left for Zurich, he told reporters, “This decision shows that Russia is trusted”.

Qatar had previously asked FIFA to take a gamble and insisted that the extreme heat of the desert nation would definitely not be an issue. They stressed that they had the money, the resources and the technology to overcome any and all logistical challenges.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar’s Emir, said, “Thank you for believing in change. Thank you for backing us and expanding the game. You will be proud of us and you will be proud of the Middle East.”

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In a statement that was issued by the club, it was mentioned that they are looking for someone who has “more managerial experience”.

Kevin Nolan, Newcastle’s captain, admitted that the players are still in a state of shock after Hughton was sacked. In an interview, he said that they were all upset that Hughton was leaving the team, primarily since he was able to help most of the players with their careers first as their coach and later on, as their manager. He said that they would never forget their promotion from the Championship in the last season and that they would be continuing to do what he has told them.

Nolan also praised how Hughton conducted himself, revealing how he wished the players well throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Nolan further added, “Chris was gutted about what had happened. You could see that, but it said so much about him that, even though he was obviously disappointed to be going, he was still telling me and Joey that we had to make sure we had a good season.

There was such dignity about the way he left, which is how he conducted himself while he was the manager.”

Sol Campbell, veteran defender, has also expressed his dismay regarding the sacking. In an interview, he said, “Chris is such a lovely guy – top man. This will hit the players hard”.

He said, “The players admired him, and liked him, and won’t be happy now he’s gone like this”.

Peter Beardsley, the reserve team coach would be taking charge of the team until they find a replacement, with Martin Jol reportedly one of the strongest contenders after leaving Ajax on Monday.

Ajax confirmed that Jol has indeed left the club by mutual agreement after being in charge for just seven months.

Jol said, “With pain in my heart I say goodbye to this wonderful club. We started something last summer that I would have finished. But I have come to realize that the expectations after last season were too high. We cannot meet such expectations. The amount of criticism that the club has had to endure daily has led to unrest in the club and among players.”

Alan Pardew, former West Ham boss, was initially the bookies’ favorite and betting has been suspended on the day that money poured in for him.

Meanwhile, Alan Shearer, the former captain of Newcastle has temporarily taken the position despite being snubbed by Ashley who was in favor of Hughton after an eight-game spell in charge which resulted in relegation back in May 2009.

When asked about Hughton’s departure, Shearer said, “It’s not good, not good news. Despite what happened, I loved it and if something was to arise again I would seriously look at it.”

In a statement that was issued by the LMA or the League Managers’ Association, Hughton said that he was proud of all of his achievements at Newcastle and that the termination of his contract was in the hands of the LMA.

Hughton further defended his Newcastle record saying, “We have built on last season’s momentum following promotion and have produced some excellent results to see us sitting midway in the table. I am immensely proud of my achievements with Newcastle and I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the players, my staff and the supporters during my time as manager. I now wish them and the club all the very best for the future.”

Richard Bevan, LMA chief executive, said, “The LMA is extremely disappointed that Newcastle have parted company with Chris given the success the club has experienced since his appointment. Throughout his time at Newcastle Chris has conducted himself with tremendous integrity and dignity, the team’s current position of 11th in the Premier League demonstrating the stabilizing effect Chris has had.”

Cattermole said in an interview, “You can see the club is going places and we all need to keep pulling together and working hard. No one has said it yet, but I think we all believe we can go somewhere.”

Sunderland could consolidate their position in the league with a strong showing on their final games for 2010, and Cattermole strongly believes that all of the upcoming fixtures against Fulham, Bolton, Manchester United and Blackpool are definitely winnable.

The midfielder said, “We are going into a good run of games and we have to make the most of them. The gaffer (Steve Bruce) pulled us to one side in training last week and said we need to try to get 10 or 12 points this month to get us into the top six.”

He further said that they have made a good start and that has helped them a lot to get their league position. He said, “Last week, we were seventh, but there were a lot of teams on the same points.”

From the looks of it, Cattermole has already put his injury problems during last season and the disciplinary issues that he faced early in the campaign in the past. In another interview, he declared, “I feel like I’m starting to hit a bit of form on the quiet,” he said. “This is the longest run of games I’ve had since I came to Sunderland. I haven’t missed a day’s training through injury and I feel like I’m finding form. I’m up and down the pitch and I haven’t been sent off for a while.”

Following his arrival from Huracan back in July 2009, Pastore was able to enjoy a promising debut campaign in 2009-10 and has produced several impressive displays during this season, which was why there have been reports that a number of the bigger clubs of Europe are taking an interest in recruiting him.

So far, 21-year-old Pastore has been able to score seven goals for Palermo in fourteen Serie A games during this season.

Former teammate Edinson Cavani, who is now playing at Napoli, even suggested that Pastore would be a perfect fit in Naples. Pastore thanked Cavani for his positive comments but declared that he was not at any time leaving Palermo.

Pastore said in an interview, “I would like to thank him again. He is a great champion like Lavezzi, who is my friend and it will be a pleasure to see him again.”

He further added that it was great that he was able to play with Edi in the team during last season. He said that he was not at all surprised by Cavani’s recent performance in Europa League when his team played against Utrecht. He said, “But I am happy at Palermo. Like I said recently, I see myself here next year. Talking about Real Madrid, Barcelona or Napoli has no sense for me at the moment. I am only thinking about my team and qualifying for the Champions League, which is an objective in our reach.”