Barca announce Shanghai friendly as Rosell backs coach Vilanova

 　　MADRID, Mar¹. 4 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona will play a friendly match in Shanghai this summer as part of a three-game Asian tour, it was confirmed on Monday.

　　The news was given by Board of Directors' spokesman, Toni Freixa in a joint² press conference with club President, Sandro Rosell at 7:00 pm local time.

　　Freixa said that Barca will play in Shanghai on August 4, before another game in Bangkok on August 7 and in Kuala Lumpur three days later.

　　Although it is just a pre-season friendly and will take place almost a month before the start of the 2013-14 season, the full Barca squad³ with all of its star players, such as Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta, will be available for the tour, as there is no World Cup or European Championship played this summer.

　　Meanwhile Barca will almost certainly travel as Champions of the BBVA Primera Liga given they have an 11 point lead over Atletico Madrid and a 13 point advantage over Real Madrid in the Spanish league table.

　　However, the Catalan side has seen its form drop badly in recent week, suffering a 2-0 defeat away to AC Milan in the Champions League, as well as a 3-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey and a 2-1 setback⁴ to their bitter rivals in the Primera Liga on Saturday.

　　It is probably no coincidence that Barca's dip in form has coincided with coach Tito Vilanova travelling to New York for cancer treatment, leaving the team in the hands of his assistant, Jordi Roura.

　　Rosell travelled to see Vilanova in New York at the end of last week and explained he had seen the coach in good spirits.

　　"Considering he is in treatment and bearing in mind his medical situation, I have seen Tito in really good spirits and completely up to date with that is happening every day at the club. He said that since he has been in New York he has seen more games than ever," commented the President, who gave a tentative date for Vilanova's return.

　　"I think he is very good and looking forward to coming back. He hope it will all be dealt with by the end of March and he is happy because he has started his countdown. He is very keen to return," said Rosell.

　　The President admitted Vilanova's absence could be a factor in his side's poor recent form.

　　"It's normal that you notice it when you are missing a leader: sports psychologists say that you start to notice a lack of leadership after 30 days and we have been without him for a long time, although I don't think that two or three bad games should mean our players and coaches should be judged. Nobody has unlimited⁵ credit, but its quite a bit more than two games," he said, ending with a resounding⁶ vote of confidence in Vilanova.

　　"Tito Vilanova will be our coach whatever happens and we ratify⁷ Tito until he returns, whenever that is. He will be the coach as long as I am President, said Rosell, who said that whatever happened the season would be a success as long as Vilanova had recovered by the time it was over.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

4 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

5 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

6 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

7 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。