The 2012-13 Season Thread Part 2 | Setting the record for setting records

http://www.fcbarcelona.es/futbol/pr...ticia/tito-vilanova-sera-operat-aquest-dijous

Los Servicios Médicos del FC Barcelona han emitido el siguiente parte médico sobre el estado del entrenador del FC Barcelona, Francesc 'Tito' Vilanova: "En el seguimiento del proceso de la glándula parótida, se ha detectado una extensión de su patología, que requerirá tratamiento quirúrgico que se hará este jueves. El tiempo de ingreso hospitalario se prevé alrededor de 3 o 4 días.
Posteriormente, Francisco 'Tito' Vilanova se someterá a tratamiento de quimioterapia y radioterapia, que durará alrededor de 6 semanas. Durante este tiempo y según su evolución, se podrá compatibilizar el tratamiento y su vida laboral.
Atendiendo a los deseos del paciente se ruega respeto a la intimidad y la confidencialidad del proceso."

bummer. At least the reports are optimistic.

It is the parotid gland, for anyone who wonders or forgot, which is a salivary gland in the back of the throat.

English translation of club statement:

Hope Vilanova can make a speedy recovery! While footy may put us at odds for who we support, we are all humans. I hope he can get back even healthier because he is an amazing coach. All the best, friends.

Who cares about the treble, I just hope he recovers...

I still can't believe this news, absolutely devastating.

It's a huge shock that came virtually out of nowhere, especially after such a great day for the club yesterday. There really is a thin line between the good and bad in life, these two contrasting days show that.

So for the next 6 weeks, Tito will miss at most 8 games (5 in the league and potentially 3 in the Copa) and he could possibly return to the bench ahead of a Copa semifinal game at the Bernabeu, depending on how things go. It will be difficult for us to maintain our current level without him because he has made this team so direct and destructive this season. I hope Roura shows his capabilities in this period that Tito is out.

But that matters very little right now. Tito's health is the most important thing right now and I sure hope that he'll be back healthy and standing tall again. Anims Tito, we're all here with you.

Tito is a consummate professional. It was very considerate of him to win La Liga before this imposed break.

In all seriousness, I do hope the operation and chemo go well and prognosis is full recovery. I know it will be hard for him to be away from this dream job for so long, especially after the stellar start, but Tito should take care of himself first and foremost.

Here's an interesting video analysis on the interplay movement between Cesc and Messi, which suggests that what Tito actually puts out there is a 4-2-4:

Bit of shock to hear the news about Tito. Wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

Which means this link is relevant again.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/19/barcelona-4-2-4-formation-guardiola-messi/

I seem to recall us going 4-2-4 a bit for the half-season when Bojan had benched Ibra.

The reappearance of Tito's cancer really scares me, even if they caught it early and it's small. The simple fact of a relapse does not bode well.

Terrible news ... hope Tito can beat this.

Some very well said words from Rosell and Zubi re Tito (thanks TotalBarca and OpinionCule):

FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell and Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta held a press conference in the Sala Paris at the Ciutat Esportiva early Wednesday evening to discuss the situation with Manager Tito Vilanova’s cancer relapse and the announcement to assign Assistant Coach Jordi Roura as interim head coach in Vilanova’s absence. The following are quotes translated by totalBarça’s Maria Inés and Roberto Curtis as reported by @OpinionCule.

Rosell: We would like to express our unconditional support to Tito and his family. We hope he has the peace of mind that he needs to overcome this. He is strong and we are confident he will be back with us soon. Our club is strong, we are capable of overcoming every obstacle. We knew about this yesterday, but we decided to respect Tito’s wishes and made it public today. We sincerely thank, in the club’s name, all the gestures of affection we have received today.
Zubi: Yesterday Tito went to a routine check. Around 7pm we were told something was wrong. Up until this morning we didn’t have an exact diagnosis. Tito has conveyed to us tremendous calmness. This is a situation we have gone through before, and that we will overcome again. The first thing we asked, and the only thing that matters, is how he is doing and how his family is holding up. Tito said this a few days ago when he made that video for the marathon against cancer.
These things teach you what really matters in life. We will go on with our jobs, with the duties in the first squad. Tito’s staff is totally focused on taking the team to the objectives we have and get the most out of the team. The players have communicated to us all their support.
We should have had good news today, welcoming Abidal back to normal training. But now it’s time to focus on Tito. Tito will fight, as well as he did last year and as Abidal did, and we will be there for him every step of his recovery.
Sports don’t matter today. Whether or not we win at Valladolid—that is now secondary. It’s also a happy day given we have just concluded negotiations with three very important players. We will be with the players and the coaching staff, being at their side at all times as every game will be a challenge. Life has taught us recently that life itself is what should really matter to us.
With Jordi, Aureli, Vela and all the technical staff, we have everything we need to face our challenges. It will be an especially difficult holiday for us, but one that will teach us plenty. Tito is a very pragmatic, direct and easygoing person. No one is ever prepared for this type of news.
Our experience with Abidal taught us that we would never wish this to happen to anyone ever again.
Tomorrow we will be with him from a safe distance in the operating room. He is in the best possible medical hands. We look forward to seeing that smile of his once he emerges.
We were a little moved this morning. These are things that sneak up on you. One must keep the news to themselves to make sure that it first reaches the dressing room. The dressing room received the news with the typical character, respect, and humanity as always in these situations. It was a phrase from Tito to Abi, ‘Your strength is our fight.’ It is now Tito’s strength. The dressing room has given us this strength and we are all with him moving forward. This is life. It’s comprised of good, bad, and everyday things. Sometimes life’s checking account appears to give you something while deducting from something else.
Yesterday was the ideal situation; three contract renewals, Abidal returning to the pitch, first in the league. But life gives it to you right in the jaw. It socks you right in the jaw and you go back to the drawing board. Sometimes you just have to pause.
Rosell: We ask everyone to be respectful at this time and in these situations. Some have speculated without knowing all the facts. Speculation forms part of the football world. It doesn’t do it justice sometimes but we can do nothing about it. Jordi Roura will sit on the bench at Valladolid, but Tito is still the coach.
Zubi: We have not spoken with Pep. We want to win at Valladolid. We do not forget that we are a soccer team, but today that does not matter to us. This news teaches us the priorities in life.
Rosell: We have seen how strong Tito can be. He is a strong person, with enormous mental determination, and very worried for his family.
Zubi: What worries Tito the most at this time is his family, how his children react, his parents. We need to give his the privacy he needs. These are things that simply make us human. Things happen to us just as they would anyone else…and if we can help each other out, it would be fantastic.
Rosell: I’ve really liked Tito’s initial reaction. He requested that there not be a tremendous medical presence around him personally. I was very moved emotionally by the marathon video and everything he said. Strange that this should happen only three days later.
Zubi: Sometimes a dark cloud arrives and blocks out the sun, but it will come out again soon.


Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2012/news/rosell-and-zubi-discuss-titos-situation/#ixzz2FY7fT629

I hope Tito can overcome this too and have a fast recovery. Get well soon Tito.

Very sad news about Tito, I hope he makes a speedy recovery. <3

I saw that Iniesta and Adriano are doubtful for Saturday against Valladolid. Not sure what it is, but it seems minor since not much is being made of it. Adriano limped out against Atletico which might explain it.

I hope this means we get to see Thiago in the midfield with Xavi. Would be nice for Villa to get a start up front.

A review of Barca without Tito coaching us for the time being

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/column-messi-co-win-without-181536911--sow.html

and Puyol interview in English

Great news on Tito's surgery, the surgery was less invasive than planned and the cancer had not metastasized (spread) as a result his chemo may be lighter than originally planned.

In other nice cancer news, word is that Barca plans to renew Abidal if he plays this season.

Both from translated headlines on totalbarca.com

Pep arrived in Barcelona this morning, home for the holidays and to see how Tito is doing.

Happy Holidays!

"16 points ahead, 4 Ballon D'ors, 1 sad Ronaldo, and a partridge in a pear tree..."

Could we got unbeaten in a whole season and then beat AC Milians 1991-92 58-match unbeaten run?

I hate do be a debbie downer, but we'll lose eventually. We always do. It could be one of those games where we go down a goal or two and cant quite make it back or maybe a shoot-out where the other team is simply on fire on that day and outscores us (When we lost 4-3 at Atleti a few years back)

Absolutely not given the circumstances. As JHP already said, we always lose eventually. But I think it is even more assured this season because of Real Madrid's performance. Basically both squads have pushed one another to barbaric totals of points in a season, wins, goals scored, etc. and have double-handedly created the whole "draw is the new loss" paradigm over the last several seasons. Now, this year, we have a 16 point gap as the calendar turns to 2013, that will take a huge pressure off and also allow more rotation. This means our season will be less barbaric, we won't go undefeated, but you just might win those bets you are always talking about - CL and CdR - as we'll be able to focus more (course so will Voldemort).

That Milan record was extraordinary because it was one hell of a team. This one is too but that record will take some beating. We're currently on 21 consecutive league games unbeaten so there is a very long way to go to reach that. Not sure if we'll be able to reach that.

I would love to try to beat LPB's records from last season though. They had 100 points last season and we have six more points than they did after J17 as well as the 121 goals scored record, although that one will take a lot of contribution from the attacking players, especially Pedro, Alexis, and Villa.