[JulianBere]

FC Barcelona - SQUAD

Updated Regularly





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Goalkeepers
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Victor Valdes
Overall 83
Age 27
Price $5,800,000



Story:
Víctor Valdés joined Barca as a youngster on 1st July 1992, from Peña Cinco Copas.
In September of the same year he moved with his family to Tenerife and didn't rejoin the club until three years later.
After quickly proving his worth with the youth teams and Barca B, the club coaches decided that the 2002-2003 season was to be Valdés time to form part of the first team squad. At first, he alternated appearances with Roberto Bonano but finished the season as regular first choice under Radomir Antic.
He consolidated his place as in the starting line-up in the 2003-04 season. He played most of Barca's matches that season and put in some excellent performances, helping the team to finish as runners-up.
In the 2005-06 season Valdés was one of the key players in Barça’s double of the League and the Champions League. Especially memorable are the crucial saves he made in the final in Paris as Barça won its second ever Champions League.
In the 2006-07 season Valdés remained a fixture in the Barça goal and played in all 38 League games. In the 2007-08 campaign he only stood down in the last three games to give José Manuel Pinto a chance to make his first team debut. All this time Valdés has been improving and is now one of the players who has played most games between the sticks for the club.

CHARACTERISTICS
One of the things that needed to be worked on after the first season, namely coming off his line, started to pick up in his second campaign with the first team. He is now a keeper of proven quality and has a great deal of experience in spite of his relative youth.


HONOURS
FC Barcelona
2006/07 Spanish Supercup
2005/06 Champions League
2005/06 League
2005/06 Spanish Supercup
2004/05 League

Individual Awards
2004/05 Spanish League Zamora

Club Situation:
It is believed that under new manager Julian Berezovsky, his first team future is not secure.

Jose Manuel Pinto
Overall 75
Age 33
Price $1,600,000



Story:
Born in Puerto de Santa Maria (Cádiz) on November 15, 1975, Pinto start his professional career in Andalucia. After spending three seasons with Real Betis's B side, he moved up to the first team and made his debut for the club during the 1997/98 campaign. A year later he agreed to move to Celta Vigo, where would spend the next decade before leaving to go to Camp Nou.
After being replaced by Toni Prats at Betis, Pinto opted to join Celta and it was there that he found stability and was awarded the captain's armband. He went on to play 126 games in la Primera, 56 matches in la Segunda A as well as appearing in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup regularly with the club. As well as helping the side to qualify for the Champions League in 2003/04, Pinto won the Zamora Trophy as the best keeper in the league in 2005/06.
That year, Pinto conceded just 28 goals in 37 league matches (an average of 0.75 per game) and helped guide the team to sixth place in the top flight and into the UEFA Cup. The season before had seen Víctor Valdés win the Zamora.
When playing for Celta in the Second Division, FC Barcelona bought him in the January transfer window as cover for Albert Jorquera, sidelined with a long-term knee injury. He came on loan but FC Barcelona signed him permanently at the end of the 2007/08 season, during which he made his League debut away at Deportivo and then played in two more matches.

PROFILE
Pinto is a strong goalkeeper, standing at 1.85m tall and weighing 82kg. His height and agility make him powerful in the air and he also has very quick reflexes to help him make a quick-reaction save when required. It is those reflexes that also make him a superb shot-stopper from close range, but he is not easy to beat from distance either.

HONOURS

Celta de Vigo
2001/02 Copa del Rey Runner-Up

Individual Awards
2005/06 Spanish League Zamora

Club Situation:
It is believed that under new manager Julian Berezovsky, his FC Barcelona future is murky.

Albert Jorquera
Overall 70
Age 29
Price $400,000





Story:
Jorquera joined the youth ranks of Barça on 2nd November 1994 from Vilobí CF. In the 96-97 and 97-98 seasons he played in the youth team and then moved on to Barca C (98-99) and Barca B (99-00).
He spent the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons on loan to second division B clubs AD Ceuta, and CE Mataró. He then returned to Barca B, also in second division B, as first choice keeper for the 2002-03 season.
He made the leap to the first team in the 2003-04 season as third choice goalkeeper behind Víctor Valdés and new signing Rüstü Recber, making a spectacular first team debut against Athletic Club Bilbao in the Nou Camp on 17th January 2004, where he put in a top performance. He then played four weeks later, also at home, this time to Atletico Madrid and was one of the stars in Barça's 3-1 win.
In the 2004-05 season, Jorquera had the chance to show his qualities in the last two games of the season, with Valdés being rested after securing the Zamora title for ending the season with the best goalkeeping record. The man from Bescanó has always performed well when called upon and has never complained about spending so much time on the bench.
In the 2005-06 season, Jorquera played 3 league, 1 Champions League and 4 Cup matches. In total, he let in 12 goals.
Jorquera didn’t play as much in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. In the former he didn’t play in the League at all, though he did turn out in all the King’s Cup games (the team reached the semi-finals). The latter was marked by a serious ligament injury to his right knee sustained in the game between the Basque Country and Catalonia on 29 December 2007 which forced him to sit out the rest of the season.

CHARACTERISTICS
Jorquera has made excellent progress since joining the Barca academy. Thanks to his hard work and determination, he has developed great reflexes, anticipation and agility.
He stands out for his positive attitude and cheerful character. He's sober and the complete keeper. Consistency is one of his main defining characteristics.

HONOURS
FC Barcelona
2006/07 Spanish Supercup
2005/06 Champions League
2005/06 League
2005/06 Spanish Supercup
2004/05 League