Barça qualified for the group stage of the Champions League tonight but the alarm bells will be ringing after a poor performance which saw the first defeat for the team under Pep Guardiola. A goal from Brazilian defender Cleber gave Wisla a 1-0 win on the night though Barça go through 4-1 on aggregate.

There were few problems for either goalkeeper early on, but Wisla had the better chances. On 12 minutes mistakes from Abidal and then Puyol led to a shot from 25 yards from Diaz which went straight at Valdés. Then after 20 minutes Valdés made a mess of a Piqué backpass and ended up clearing straight to the feet of a Wisla forward who chipped the ball back in only for the ball to drift wide of the far post.

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Having won the first game 4-0 Barça go into the return leg in Poland without the need to recall Leo Messi who has been given a rest after competing in the Olympic Games. However, Barça are treating the game with the respect that  Champions League qualification deserves, and despite the comfortable lead Dani Alves and Martin Caceres both return to the squad after missing the game against Boca Juniors through injury.

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After a troubled summer in which he scraped through a vote of no confidence, Joan Laporta has been confirmed today by the General Assembly as Barça president until 2010. The members who form the Assembly have voted by nearly 55% in favour of Laporta and have also approved the economic budget for the coming season.

The likes of Sandro Rossell or Ferran Soriano who may both have their eyes on Laporta's position, will now have to wait until the elections of 2010. After the good sensations that the football team is showing this can only be a positive thing for the club after all the instability created by the vote of no confidence. I know many won't agree with me but I feel that despite his faults Laporta deserves to finish his mandate.

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Well, I'm finally back from my holidays and it seems as if I chose a good week to take off as very little seems to have been happening at Barça while I was away. However, there is the good news that Leo Messi and the Argentina team won the gold medal at football after beating Nigeria 1-0 in the final. Messi didn't score but he was involved in Argentina's winning goal which was scored by Ángel Di María.

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Football Club Barcelona took a giant step towards the next round of the Champions League with a 4-0 win over Wisla Krakow at Camp Nou tonight. Samuel Eto'o who looked to be on his way out of the club scored twice and there were goals too from the excellent Xavi Hernandez and from an improved Thierry Henry

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Pep Guardiola has named the 22 players available for tonight's vital Champions League first leg tie with Wisla Krakow. But the best news was the announcement from Guardiola that Samuel Eto'o will stay at the club this season "because he wants it and I want it" This is an excellent boost for us all going into the new season, no more idle talk of Drogba or Adebayor, we have the best and he's staying with us.

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Not a lot to report from the last two days in Barcelona, the beginning of the Olympic Games means the local sports papers have plenty of other news to fill their pages meaning the transfer rumours can be put to one side. However, what can be reported is that Marc Crosas move to Celtic has been confirmed and the player was presented before Celtic's win against St Mirren this weekend.

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With the crucial Champions League qualifier against Wisla Krakow just four days away Barça returned to the Miniestadi this morning to continue preparation for the match. Barça will also have a training session this afternoon at 18.30. Tomorrow the players will train only in the morning (9.30) but on Monday they will return to the routine of training twice a day. Today's sessions are expected to be light given that the players are still recovering from the effects of jet lag but the intensity of the sessions will increase towards match day.

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As suggested here yesterday, Barça have taken the decision not to recall Leo Messi for the Champions League game against Wisla Krakow thus allowing the player to compete in the Olympic Games in China. It seems Barça have come to an agreement with the Argentine Football Association whereby Messi will be insured against injury during the tournament and Argentina will renounce using Messi in any friendly matches this season. Given that Messi was already in China, and that it seemed to be his wish to play the Olympics, I feel Barça have taken a wise decision to let him stay.

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