No idea to either of your questions, but bear in mind the following: Barcelona is facing the very real possibility that they won't qualify for Europe, this due to their tenuous mid-table position in La Liga. I believe that, if they ultimately finish outside the top eight spot, then the only way they can get into Europe for 2003-2004 is via UEFA's Intertoto Cup, a summer tournament, and one that Barcelona's already applied for a spot in. Chances are Barca would be one of the seeded clubs, starting play in the second or third stage of the competition (effectively receiving a bye to get there). If Barca enters the tournament in the 2nd stage, then the home legs of these fixtures will be on 5 and 6 July with the away legs on 12 and 13 July. However, if Barca receives a seed that allows them entry into the tournament in the final batch, the first legs will be played on 19 and 20 July with the return legs taking place on 26 July. The Revolution are scheduled to play Barca on Sunday, July 27th. So in a nut-shell people, if Barcelona ends up in the tournament, I wouldn't be surprised if they pull out of the friendly with Juve. FYI, The Magpie
i think magpie is right. the c.l. has announced allocations to the various leagues for next season (of which spain has 4). uefa cup has not done so yet as far as i can tell. however, i believe they get at least 3 and maybe 4 slots. of course, intertoto is the next option for them after that. it seems that barca's competition thru to the end of the season is not generally on the top side of the table. they currently sit in 8th, 1 pt behind 6th place (there's no way it seems that they climb into 5th or higher at this point). however, they're only 3 points ahead of 13th place racing santander.....so this will be a soap opera down the stretch for us. Table: Spanish Primera Liga i wonder what championsworld (promoter of the summer giants of soccer festivities) have planned if they drop out? i think celtic plays man u first in seattle then they head down to l.a. to play a mex side...no? perhaps they come out east to fill out the schedule?
man u is already scheduled to play club america that day in l.a. (guess that clarifies who is going down to play a mex side after seattle from my prev post). furthermore, celtic is playing ac milan in cleveland on 7/25....so i'd doubt a 2 day turnaround for them. championsworld has worked with rangers, roma, and a few other clubs in the past...but don't really know what their sched's are like for the summer. more info here: ChampionsWorld of course you can. isn't dreaming and being a revs fan one and the same...unfortunately, in theory and practice?
actually, there's a great la liga graphic/table thru the barcelona website. looks like top 4 get c.l. and 5/6 get uefa cup.....that's it. i believe i read that spain got an extra spot in the c.l. for next year. perhaps they just moved an uefa slot up and didn't dole out an extra slot (uefa cup hasn't had an announcement on allocations yet, i don't think). therefore, barca may have to get their way into the 6 spot. again 5 or higher (10 points diff right now) looks like it would be out of reach. La Liga Table: at FCBarcelona.com