Barcelona's Europe-conquering players danced on stage with Shakira in a night of wild homecoming celebrations after they won the Champions League. Defender Gerard Pique, who is Shakira's boyfriend, dragged his teammates to her concert last night after promising to do so in a message on Twitter just after Barca's 3-1 demolition of Manchester United in Wembley. Along with fellow players including striker David Villa, Pedro Rodriguez, Bojan Krkic and midfielders Sergio Busquets and Xavi Hernandez, they linked arms and danced with Shakira before a huge crowd in the Olympic stadium. The 24-year-old Pique met the Colombian pop star last year while shooting the video to her song Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) -- the official track of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which was won by Spain. In January Shakira, 34, announced the end of her 11-year relationship with Argentine lawyer Antonio de la Rua and shortly after gossip magazines began speculating that she was dating Pique. The singer confirmed her romantic relationship with the Spanish international footballer in March through a message posted on her Twitter account that was accompanied by a photo of the smiling pair. Shakira, a Barca fan and a four-time Grammy award winner, is on a Sale el sol (The sun is coming out) tour, which takes her to a string of Spanish venues including Madrid on 3 June.
Earlier, Barcelona's Europe-conquering heroes paraded in an open-top, double-decker bus through cheering, packed streets and arrived to a roar of welcome at a bursting Camp Nou stadium. Brandishing the Champions League trophy from their sublime 3-1 victory over Manchester United in London's Wembley stadium, players made a victorious entry one by one to their home pitch yesterday. The bigggest cheer from the 98,000-capacity crowd erupted for Man of the Match Lionel Messi, who scored the second goal. “Actually, I have nothing to say to you,” said Messi, a man of few words. “Simply, let's enjoy all this. Thank you for this season. And I hope we will be able to enjoy a lot more.” French international Eric Abidal, who has recovered from surgery to remove a liver tumour only two months ago, thanked captain Carles Puyol for allowing him the honour of receiving the trophy in Wembley. “Thanks to the captain for his gesture. It was the best day of my career,” he said. Defender Gerard Pique chose the venue to hit out at a slew of allegations against the team in the past season, some made by arch-rivals Real Madrid, whom they defeated to take the league title.
“We don't take drugs. We don't take dives. And we don't buy referees. We just play football,” said Pique. The team landed from London just a few hours earlier at Barcelona-El Prat airport. Accompanied by the deafening blast of Brazilian samba music and cheered by thousands of fans under a baking hot sun, the heroes made their way through the city in their bus, decked out in Barcelona's red and blue colours and the word “Champions” on the sides. Wearing T-shirts identifying the “CHA-MPI-ONS,” coach Joseph Guardiola and his men were driven past the city's statue of Chrisopher Columbus, thronged by fans, some clinging on to the memorial for a better view. afp
Source:http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=371423&catid=41
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