News about Igor Zubeldia

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Barcelona's Champions League match on Tuesday night was the first in the team's history. Every single player in the team's line-up had been born locally or came from the club's youth system. It was the first time it had happened to them in the Champions League since the 2001-02 season. Real Sociedad lost about 350 miles northwest and 24-hours later, and eight of their starting lineup were born in the surrounding Basque region, with eight of those eight being products of the club's academy. That's the first thing you should know about the Spanish club's participation in Champions League Group D - this is a tale based on local heroes.

PETE JESNON IS a national football team in Spain. Lewandowski had only 45 seconds to score on his 34th birthday, but Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 4-1. Real Sociedad's first minute had flooded forwards and when shock starter Alejandro Balde, who had been wide left in a 3-4-3 formation in place of Jordi Alba, sprinted forward into space, it was a landslide starter. Mikel Merino couldn't bear him, and Igor Zubeldia never came out to shut him down so he was free to feed the Polish striker who scored his first league goal for Barcelona within the first minute.