Recovery at Ciutat Esportiva

After beating Getafe at Spotify Camp Nou, the Barça squad returned to training on another sunny but crisply cold morning at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper. 

Alarcón of the youth team joined the first team regulars on the Tito Vilanova field as the focus switched to the next challenge, Wednesday's Copa del Rey encounter at home to Real Sociedad. 

Thanks for support for Players Group

The team was visited today by the new president of the Barça Players Group, Juan Manuel Asensi. Joined by his predecessor, Ramon Alfonseda, he thanked the players and coaches for the support they give to former Barça players in difficulty. Since 2011, players and staff have been making a voluntary donation of 0.5% of their salaries to the group.

Barça coach Xavi Hernández is a member of the group himself and described how important he thinks the scheme is. Asensi advised the players that “maybe tomorrow you won't be at the club any more or even in Catalonia, but you can be assured the Group will always be there for you for anything you need."

The man who knows Xavi extremely well, and was actually his first coach when he entered the team's youth system, then presented each of the players with a book about the history of the Group.